Did you folks miss me? This is my first review in weeks, and Im sure you missed my tight, concise prose, the no-punches-pulled, no-nonsense, straight-to-the-point analysis of the latest offerings in the world of comics. When I think of how long youve had to endure without me, it breaks my heart. Im sorry, my children. I shall not desert you again.

And what higher praise can you give a comic book other than to say it will leave you wanting more?

But even if Im right even if Ultimates was only very good Ultimates 3 is off to a very, very good start. Will I think of this book fondly twenty years down the line? I dont know, but I just might, and that is a real rarity.

This was a six issue series that could, and should, have been told in two issues. We can only hope that the stories it has now set up can keep the momentum of this issue going.

Ah, perhaps, if there is a comic book shop in the Dreaming, we may still get to read it someday.

I was not looking forward to yet another zombie story, but my LCS owner persuaded me to give Blackest Night a try. Im glad he did. As long as they keep coming up with cool moments like they have been, I have no objections to the zombie story being resurrected yet again.

Lone Ranger has been a very good read month in and month out, and even though this one looked as though it was going to fall a little short of that mark, the cavalry made it just in time.

And when you consider my lack of interest in the character, that's saying something. They left me wanting more when I didn't even want any to begin with.

Besides, if the worst thing you can say about a comic book is that some of the previous issues were better, than you've got a really good comic book on your hands.

But maybe you cant take my word for it. I mean, when I was a kid I wanted to go to Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters, and now that Im 31 I want to go to the Umbrella Academy. Clearly Im regressing, and my opinion is therefore questionable.

On the other hand, I just know theyre going to let me down in the end.

So Cantonians, proceed with caution. The rest of you are going to get your $2.99-worth.

So what if this isnt Whedon at his best? So what if it is mostly set-up for stories to come? Whedon at his worst is better than most everyone else at their best, and Buffy set-up is better than most titles climaxes.

And the worst thing I can say about this comic book? It's got some scene transitions that are a little awkward.

Well never know if Loeb and Company might have been able to turn out a terrific Buffy cartoon, but we do know they can turn out a mediocre Buffy comic book.

Now can we see him stick closer to home for awhile?

Speaking of good endings, how can I wrap this one up? Maybe I should just stop typing. Right about now.

But dont even bother picking this one up if you havent been reading the book up until now its greatness will be lost on you. Instead count yourself lucky to live in the era of back issue boxes and trades. Youve got a second chance to experience a first-rate book.

Lost of humor and action, characters you can give a damn about, true heroism in a magic-and-sci-fi coating this book has everything but a massive audience. Rogers successors have big shoes to fill, and if you like good comics and havent been following this one, youve got lots of reading to do.

This was by no means a bad comic book, and considering the challenge the creators had in front of them, they did well. They hit a single with one hand tied behind their backs. Not bad.

So in short, this is another great installment in a great title. The new creative team will have quite a tall task in front of them when they finally take the reins even the fill-in creative teams on this title have delivered terrific comics. But Ive reason to be confident; when Ted Kord was bumped off, Jamie Reyes had big shoes to fill, too, and look how that turned out.

So I just cant give this issue the wholehearted, slobbering recommendation Id like to. If youre already a convert, dont pass it up. Its hardly so bad that youd regret the loss of your $2.99 more than youd regret the hole in your collection. On the other hand, if you havent read Ex Machina yet, dont start here. Instead, plant yourself in Borders for an hour or so and check out the first trade. If you have tried Ex Machina before and didnt care for it, I dont know what to tell you. I have every reason to hope that the next issue will be better, but there is no hope for you.

Vaughns work is, at its worst, very good, and Harriss work is, at its very worst, great. As neither of them phones this one in, it starts out being an above-average comic. Throw in Trouble, and the hope that she might be back and explored in greater detail, and this one ends up being very good.

We learn a lot more about Hundred in this issue, but I already knew everything I needed to know: Im going to miss him terribly.

So all the build-up and exposition in "One More Day" has been tedious, and most of this issue is no exception, but those last few pages elevated this book to a decent read, and hooked me for one more issue.

This is a good read, a funny read, but a disposable read. It will not leave anyone clamoring for more Ambush Bug in twenty years. In fact, they wont even remember it a month from now.

Put it together and what you have is good, not great, but that still makes it a good deal better than many of the Angel comics books weve seen.

You wont hate it, but even if youre a Smith fan you may be a little disappointed.

What? Hey, Ennis at less than his best is better than most of the rest, and God is indeed a wanker.

So know what youre getting into. If you just want a good superhero read that might end up being the springboard to a new book, or might just disappear altogether, give this one a read. Looking for a little Hornhead? Pass it on by, and give Tarantula a try if he ever lands his own title.

This is a big issue of Daredevil that logically advances the major storylines of this arc while setting up the next. Loaded with action and surprises including a terrific shocker of an ending it could have been great. But it wasnt.

This is an above average comic book, with every reason to believe the next issue will be better, so my suggestion: Newbies, give it a try; diehard fans, pick it up; everyone else, come back next month.

Lets look at the good: Remenders dialogue is decent enough, artist Mat Broome does a fine job, and, again, the premise is intriguing. Im going to give this book another try as it has a lot of potential, but they didnt live up to that potential this first time out.

It's a meh comic, but I'll throw in an extra half-bullet for that final splash page. Chilling. Chilling. Now if only I got to spend some time seeing the protagonists in this story deal emotionally with chilling things like this.

And now you know...the rest of the story.

So I spent a dollar extra to get content I could have found elsewhere for free and to read ads for some upcoming projects, and spent three dollars on a story that did little but kill time before the showdown. Learn from my mistake, folks: Leave this issue on the rack.

If youve been reading Jonah Hex but want to save $2.99 this month, this is the month to skip. If you havent been reading it, hit the back issue box, but dont start here.

If youre a hardcore Hex fan, if youre a demon fetishist, or if you like bare-knuckle boxing, check this one out. If youre not any of those things, save your $2.99. If youre name is Ericka, good luck to you and Ill drop you a line in another five years.

But you know what? Big deal. Still an excellent read and well worth the price of admission. If you havent been reading Hex, give this one a try. If you have been reading Hex and, like me, youve been bemoaning the declining quality, rejoice: This isnt a return to form. Its an improvement on the form.

Thats the experience of reading Jonah Hex #27, and thats a damn good comic book.

Having said that, its still, as I said, a fine read, so if youve never tried it before, pick it up; it might not be as predictable to you. And if you have tried it before and liked it, good news: Youll get more of the same here. And like ice cream, more of the same is not bad.

Did I say this book makes me feel old? Forget it. That blurb alone has awakened my inner-fanboy.

As for me, my mission is to drop another nine dollars and follow this series to the end. Im not sure if Ill choose to accept it.

Whatdoyaknow? Guess that loser did know what he was talking about.

So Im going to keep reading, but I dont suggest you start here if you havent been buying this one. Pick up issue four instead, as the ending to issue three suggests that the action the point of the story is finally going to get underway next month, and the last issue blurbs really have told new readers all they need to know to catch up.

So if youre a Blue and Gold fan, raise my rating for this issue one whole bullet, and make sure you pick it up. And if option three comes to pass and this whole arc ends up making sense and gives me Ted Kord back, well Ill hop in a time sphere, go back a month or so, and raise the rating myself.

Thats right: Its a first issue that is accessible for new readers while firmly rooted in continuity, and it features likeable characters for whom one can care.

In the end, this is a perfectly entertaining story that is capably illustrated and furthers the plot of the story arc while maintaining the illusion of character development. Had they chosen their source material more wisely, this one might have been good for extra bases. As it is, its a bloop single, a must-read for Booster fans that can easily be missed by anyone else.

Ah, if only the past could be changed. There is so much I would do differently, although buying this book is not one of those things. Nevertheless, I cant strongly suggest that you do the same.

And if you are one of those incurable fans, see you back here next month when our history repeats some more and I kvetch about this stuff all over again.

This comic book is entertaining enough judged in a vacuum, but nothing exists in a vacuum. This is not the way Green Arrow, Hawkman and Ted Kord would behave, and the readers are about to be either pandered to or put upon. Sadly, Ill be back next month, and until the bitter end of this series, to find out which it will be. And to kvetch about it some more.

Ive tried for months now to give this arc the benefit of the doubt, but

In short, although the story is adequate, good even, A: AtF #11 suffers from artwork that could charitably be described as lacking. Pick it up if youre a fan of the show, but be prepared to resist the urge to drive a stake right through it.

Get him out of that canyon, get that sword out of him, and have him show Wicked John that Jack may not have been first, but he has always been best.

And if lame jokes are your thing and youll be in the Cleveland, Ohio, area Tuesday night, come on down to the Improv.

If you want a mediocre issue of a mediocre team book, grab this one up. Otherwise, grab up the next issue of X-Factor and save yourself fifty-one cents.

This is just an average comic book. Nothing really great to say about it, nothing really bad. If youre a hardcore fan of the recent LSH, youll love this. Shooter doesnt mix it up and doesnt attempt to turn the clock back forty years. If you like the recent LSH well enough, like me, give this a try. I thought this was good enough to merit picking up the next issue. There was some foreshadowing in this issue that some new team members were on the way, which may be the new twist I was hoping for, and besides that Im predisposed to liking the Legion. If you dont have that affection for the team, save your $2.99. Or buy another copy of Ultimates 3 #1. You can never have too many.

This looks like its going to be a really intriguing mini-series and I have a lot of faith in Jenkins, but so far Id say were off to a mixed start. Im sure that next month theyll pull a Robbie and make amends for that, but until then you would do well to spend your money elsewhere.

So all told we have a perfectly OK comic book, with perfectly OK writing and perfectly OK art. Its a meh-fest, only marginally better than its sister title. Pick it up if youre a fan of the show, but be prepared to resist the urge to drive a stake right through it.

On the plus side, there are lots of pages with people hitting each other.

So save your money this month if youre not big fan, but come back next month. These guys are too good to blow it two months in a row.

If youre looking for a good tutorial on superhero storytelling, pick this one up. If youre looking for a good story for your $2.99, let it slide.

All the Ultimate books are derivative. After all, they are based on source material that is close to fifty years old. But for the price of admission I feel they at least owe me a novel approach to that old material. That kind of approach is nowhere to be found in this issue.

The answers to all these questions are blowing in the wind, which is just what this issue does: It blows.

Which begs an important question: Is it really a crime if the victim is willing? Yes, yes in this case it is. For while I may be 31, my inner-fanboy is but a child hence the boy part of that appellation so at the very least this is a case of dork statutory rape.

Am I being really nitpicky? Perhaps, but I think that if Im promised A Bold New Era I have the right to expect excellence. This was just OK.

The moral of this story: if youre going to make us wait for our dessert, make sure it is worth the wait.

And he looked upon this assessment and concluded that this was an issue vital for regular readers, but because of the logical lapses in characters actions, he simply could not recommend it to the masses. But he would implore them to check out trades of the series if they had not already, and to give the book a chance in future months. For surely they would enjoy those excellent stories of the past, and surely there will be more excellent stories to come, and if this fine comic can dig itself out of this spiral of mediocrity, then those who come along for the ride might live happily ever after.

In short, these characters may all come from three different worlds, but they band together to create one boring comic book.

So there it is. Told you I was going to review Punisher War Journal #12. Eventually.

So, again, if you like T and A--no shortage of T and A, mind you--some rated R humor, and zombies, youll probably like this. Me? Im like a zombie here, Im in search of more brains.

And therein lies the best thing I can say for this issue: It may be a mediocre comic at best, but it may very well lead you to spend a few hours with some really good ones.

This comic book tries to squeeze too much movie into too few pages, and aims for old school, nostalgic writing but misses, producing not nostalgia but a thoroughly unpleasant reading experience. If youre the worlds biggest Indy fan, you might want to pick it up. However, if youre the worlds biggest Indy fan, you might also be appalled by what you see.