DC has now managed to do the obvious-yet-until-now-impossible: producing books about their big three mascots Superman, Batman and now Wonder Woman that are high-quality essential monthly reading. Stand up and take a bow, fellas.

DC isnt doing reprints for any 52 issue, and trades wont be out until week 53 (or later). You dont need this as a guide to follow the One Year Later books, but if youre any kind of DC fan, I guarantee youll be smacking yourself if you choose to skip out.

Checkmate is another triumph for One Year Later. Its easily been my most anticipated of the post-Crisis books and the first issue lives up to my expectations.

An ongoing Elephantmen series, as well as the change in art duties, are both surprising in their new direction and reassuring in their successful execution. As long as we get the second issue before a year elapses, this could become the next big buzz book.

Surprisingly, this is the second issue in a row with an ambiguous ending that comes off as confusing rather than gripping. It suggests a mystery that wont be revealed until the next issue, but the question centers more around What is Mowgli thinking? rather than Wow, how did he figure that out? These cliffhangers could really bite if Willingham just presented them a bit differently.

The backup tale features Pocky Pine, who is..., yes..., a porcupine, but hes got quite a hilarious agenda. The tale features the most stunning art Ive seen yet from Josh Middleton, and I almost wish they would let him illustrate an entire arc of Fables at some point (I only almost wish it, because I dont want to wait that long between issues). Im not going to mention what this storys about, but at the very least it will make you smile, at best laugh out loud. And in this era of reality-centric doom and gloom that most creators are putting out, theres something to be said for a simple story that can involve the reader and make them smile.

Infinite Crisis may not go down as the greatest event story of all time, but its probably been the most explosive, dynamic and surprising event of the last year. The fruits of the Countdown are in full bloom.

Frankenstein has been the sleeper hit of the Seven Soldiers event, its a shame that its practically over.

Despite its minor flaws, I cant mark this book down. While not as outstanding as the Cooke or Allred issues, theres still too much to love and too much to recommend in its entire 48 pages. This is the kind of book you find yourself flipping back through over and over after youve read it, and in an industry where a single issue can barely stand on its own anymore outside of a collection, rereadability is a trait that should be more recognized. This issue succeeds both as a showcase for Hamptons work as well as an advertisement for what hes capable of.

The next issue seems to be, once again, a change of pace with a new character dynamic in a new setting. Thats what Ive come to expect from this series, and its thus far delivered.

Why only ? Because at the end of the day, none of these characters really matter. Although Astro City is a continuing saga, this special neither explores earlier elements of the series nor sets up future stories. A one-shot that tells its tale and gets out of the way is satisfying, but not so much given the wait between issues. One has to wonder why Busiek and Anderson put the brakes on their Dark Age maxiseries to deliver this tale in the meanwhile, and though its certainly interesting, why did it need to be told? The most frustrating aspect of this Samaritan book is that it only serves to remind readers how much more consistently we used to get stories like this a decade ago.

This issue was really perfectly paced. It has tension and a mystery in the present. It has a flashback to the origin and the slow exploration of his powers. It has an interesting and fun supporting cast. Action, light humor, curious subplots: this is what superhero comics are about. Despite some awkwardness here and there, a promising start.

While this issue is promising, theres no last panel twist or mystery subplot to hook me in. Ill come back based on the strength of the creative team and the overall solid quality of this issue, but while solid is reassuring, its not dynamic.

Everything up to the last two pages is solid, but the end could definitely have been more so.

This is a solid starting point for a series thats probably doomed anyway, but Ill give it another issue to build momentum. I need more reasons DCU interaction, Hawkmans disappearance, Kendras motivations to read a Hawkgirl title than to see Hawkman with breasts.

As much love as I have for the narrative, there are a few blips that make me halt in my praise. What does that cast of characters on Jim Lees page have to do with whats going on in the dialogue? Are they pretty much telling us that Diana is Wonder Woman in the now scene? But that doesnt add up, since the characters on the final page Captain Marvel, Aquaman, Hawkman to name a few dont jive at all with their current incarnations and whereabouts. I cant tell if its a continuity goof, a spoiler or something else entirely, but its an unnecessarily confusing way to end what could have been a story.

But overall, the intrinsically pleasing format is just so magnetic in its appeal, and as its a stylistic attraction that only begs more visual gratification, the interiors deliver on the promise of the cover. Heck, its hard to stop flipping back through it and to just put it out of sight. Simple yet effective.

All in all, not the most satisfying of the Seven Soldiers mini series, but Morrison definitely flexes his range in genres and themes, and that provides for interesting and engaging content throughout. I cant imagine any other series or situation in which this kind of story could have been told the way it was.

In terms of content, this is how a first issue should be played. As long as Willingham keeps it to DCU Magic 101 for us newbies, hell have successfully freed the magic genre from Vertigos stranglehold.

If theres one thing that might scare readers off from this book (besides the fact that Solo is a brilliantly conceived showcase for full artistic expression and much too good to sell well) its that Scotts new style may be a bit too bold and radical for the expectations of his casual DCU-reading fans. I see his graffiti art entries as more experimentation than ready to marry itself to a visually sequential story. The stories themselves arent overly strong, but Solos purpose is, on the whole, style over substance, or perhaps substance in style. Youre not buying a book about artists to see them write War and Peace. For what it is, its very bold and challenging and another great entry for the prematurely-cancelled Solo series.

DC couldve opted for a more mainstream creator for this issue there are plenty of Jim Lees and Kuberts to choose from. The fact that they chose Sergio Aragons instead demonstrates their commitment to honoring industry legends and their indifference to reader interest. Though it was a losing battle from the outset, its been a fun two years, with Brendan McCarthy (who?) next issue to cap it off.

If theres one letdown about this issue, its that nothings really at stake yet in this arc. Theyre on a quest, sure, and things are likely to get shaken up to severe degrees as they always do, but other than a gut-punch of a cliffhanger, this opening chapter is riding in cruise mode. Its a rather average issue for this series, in which average is perfectly satisfying.

The next issue seems primed to address my concerns and better define where this series is headed. While the premise is still a little shaky, Im enjoying the dynamics of the large cast and the balance of different plot threads. I just hope they secure a stable artist. Whats Shawn Martinborough up to?

On the whole, many subplots are explored, and a few characters get deeper exploration than theyve had in months. As a single issue in the series, it does more right than wrong, despite my rather picky gripes. As a continuation of a series that is flawed at its core, its not really addressing any of my concerns and seems to be setting up plotlines to fall victim to the glaring plot holes inherent in the concept. Time will tell, and a guest appearance by the presumably new Suicide Squad may breathe some life into the book since the Great Ten appearance was pretty interesting last issue but a book that relies on cameos is sure to crumble at its core.

Well, its an issue of Fables, and fans know what to expect by now. However, its just an issue of Fables, whereas next months anniversary issue will hopefully be WOW, its an issue of Fables!

Overall we have a disappointing start to something that has the potential to be exceedingly strong. The Fantastic Four have always been about adventure into the unknown with lithe character dynamics. If Davis can pull himself away from drawing every panel of every spaceship to add some depth and motivation to the characters, we might get a truly special tale out of his efforts.

Despite the problems with its internal logic, Justice still remains a compelling read, as its currently the only Justice League-centric book on the stands representing all the core characters engaged in an explosive struggle. The production values are fantastic and its a great deal for the price tag. But like the fanciest poodle, theres not nearly enough meat on its bones.

I dont really know how to endorse this series based on the first issue, as the next few will take place on Earth and the following four will crossover with the next Annihilation event, though I suppose most people buying this issue will be fans of Annihilation. Its one issue of Rich Rider in space doing not-particularly-original-but-perfectly-competent space hero things. Just be prepared for some blazing nipple action.

I may be grading this first issue low, but if Marz manages to stimulate the story with the slightest bit of complexity or character depth, it could definitely become a worthy read. Until that time comes, its pretty much beautifully average popcorn.

Its a very good issue as is, but as the final issue of a miniseries, and as the climax for the Seven Soldiers event, the timing is a bit puzzling. Still, the final one-shot is bound to be a doozy.

X Isle is off to a decent start that needs another chapter before we can get a feel of what this storys going to be about. Its not a vacuous first issue, but its difficult to make any predictions about the series without a bit more content to go on.

It may sound like I just rambled off a lot of negatives, but this issue isnt really that bad. Its more of what readers have come to expect, which is the progression of a deep plot with strong characters. It just doesnt deliver or pay off on any setup in its own right. Hopefully the rest of the arc will pick up and the last quarter of the series will rocket toward its conclusion. I really cant see Y existing farther than its planned end. It has the potential, but the lacking execution suggests that Vaughans ready to wrap things up.

In The End: It occurs to me that Brian Pulido is attempting to attract readers by utilizing the most recent version of the character. I can't fault him for that. I fully admit that the reasons I'm not enjoying this book can be traced to the fact that this isn't the Freddy story I wanted to read. Pulido knows horror comics and there were some fun bits of business in this issue, but not enough to make me a happy reader. The art is a tad ugly, but it serves the story well. I'm glad this series is only three issues long and the last chapter may surprise the heck out of me, but for right now, my reaction to this series is lukewarm at best.

Want to escape the grim Civil War and get back to the days of good versus evil with flashy costumes, flashy powers and flashy sci-fi concepts? Well, youll just have to settle for Beyond! instead, which does a decent job of recapturing that feel, but a decent job and nothing more.

If Rucka is writing Checkmate in story arcs, as he tends to do, the climaxes are where the quality is at. Hes got the benefit of the doubt from me that hell pull through.

Wonderful visuals, abysmal presentation. If ogling zombies is your thing, this book is your gore porn. Enjoy your meal.

This issue marks nine straight issues of the most consistently beautiful book with the most consistently mediocre plotting. Theres something to be said for that, but Im not sure its worth saying. The next issue features/ties into/occurs One Year Later, finally scoring a stable art team though oddly receiving the least hype of the OYL books. It seems that so little has been established since Hals return that its too soon to shunt him a year forward already theres certainly no cliffhanger in this issue or lingering mysteries but the new status quo (if its any different) will surely be a good purchase-or-purge-it indicator.

This issue doesnt really aspire to be much, but as a result that goal is easily achieved.

This series faces an uphill battle from here on out. Due to One Year Later, we already know who survives the Crisis, so theres a bit of a drop-off of tension there. And while this issue was a dip in quality from the rest of the series, IC #6 and #7 will have to work extra hard to pick up the slack as well as tie up all the loose ends still up in the air.

Thirty pages for $3.50 may not be enough of a bimonthly fix, but its still a good deal.

Its almost a good thing that Rucka wont be the regular Supergirl writer, as the concept is off to a powerful start, but the execution and development of the characters is fairly shaky. I approve of where this book is going, and I hope regular writer Joe Kelly knows how best to take it there.

Hopefully Rucka has all the loose ends tied up for the Checkmate series to begin. There are enough accessibility complaints in comics today without a typically reliable writer giving one of his self-proclaimed fans a bad case of head-scratching.

At least the art is nice. With six pencillers, it better be.

I think Ruckas been stretched too thin. He bowed out of writing Supergirl because of the toll 52 and his upcoming novel are taking on him, and while I think hes the right writer to tackle Checkmate, he isnt devoting the necessarily amount of effort to make the book work. Sales are taking a dive, and if the faithful are already giving up, this book doesnt have long to live.

And for the record, its not that I was appeased by the diversity in 52s cast rather, the characters took precedence over their skin color so that race was a complete non-issue until actually given some thought. But for some reason, Countdowns narrow breed of characters sticks out like Randy Marsh on Wheel or Fortune, or Larry David on affirmative action, or Buffy on UPNs lineup point made?

As it stands, Eternals is still only six issues long, as there has yet to be an announcement like that which was issued when 1602 #1 came out to stretch the story thin over eight issues instead of six. However, whether or not there will be any meat to Eternals still remains to be seen.

If you follow Giffen and DeMatteis to every project they write, its possible you wont be displeased at all with the beginning of this new series. But the casual reader deserves a much better introduction.

And I sincerely apologize for littering this review with terrible puns while advocating better humor. Im clearly out of my skull.

If this story is indeed a direct adaptation of the game, I would willingly keep playing the game to find out what happens. But games can get away with weirdness since controlling the characters and overcoming obstacles further involve the player. The comic doesnt have those benefits and needs to infuse the story with a couple of grounded ideas here and there for those of us without seven different personas.

Otherwise, theres really not much else to say about Marvel s JLA at this point. I know this type of empty first issue is typical for the publisher by now, but I really expected there to be some kind of legitimate hook its really the difference between readers picking up a collectible first issue and coming back for the second. Its a shame that todays packaged-for-trade market has all but forgotten the appeal and necessity of a good cliffhanger.

Super Real is turning out to be a mixed bag still in search of its groove. Martin clearly knows what he wants from these characters and where he plans to take them. I just hope when he finally brings them there that enough readers will still be around.

All three entries are decent efforts that, for one reason or another, just dont seem to work. The creators clearly have a skill in their craft, especially in the art department, but need to abandon the desire to be hip and fresh in favor of telling a good story.

DC likely hired Busiek to deliver straightforward superheroics for their flagship character, and thats exactly what hes doing. Its back to basics, reinstituting the status quo, returning the character to his former glory choose your clich. Passable as it is, what it comes down to is boring comics.

The only reason this issue scored as high as it did is because first issues come with the benefit of the doubt and minimal expectations. There hasnt been enough development to the story for any serious disappointment to come into play yet. But dont worry, its well on its way.

Even though there are at least two arcs to go before this series wraps up, things feel a tad rushed. Maybe its because of how slow the preceding issues went, or the fact that the cast has nearly doubled in that same time, but the balance has been lost and needs to be recovered quickly, and Ive a bad feeling, based on the cliffhanger here, that wont happen until the next arc begins.

Robin: Who do you keep mumbling to anyway?

Perhaps if this series were set outside the Marvel U with different characters, it would be at least harmlessly mediocre, since it wouldnt be trying so hard to be something its not. What Annihilation wants to be is a serious space war set in the Marvel Universe, and what it turns out to be is a cheerless hack-and-slash fest founded on silly characters and sillier premises.

The reason I wont be following the rest of this event is due to two problems: (1) theres no explanation or real mystery behind the source of the event, it simply happens and were supposed to care because a bunch of random space-faring characters take note; (2) a bunch of random space-faring characters take note and do nothing more. Im not now compelled to follow a solo miniseries about the Silver Surfer merely because he saw a big flash out in the distance of space and seemed curious. In fact, the Surfer himself hardly seemed bothered to find out what happens, so why should I be?

Well, here it is: Black Plague. Its a comic book. Its got superheroes. Its got Joe Casey writing as if its still his 1997 debut to comics. Enjoy.

The writing seems to be begging the reader to forgo any expectations about a credible plot, motivations or logic by flashing breasts on the page. Readers who want to like will probably force themselves to find something to enjoy, but those who wont like it probably can read the double D warning signs on the cover.

Point of contention three: Turning superhero powers into an explainable science. The second story reveals that Speedball is still alive because, after taking the brunt of an explosion and being flung hundreds of miles across the country and crashing to the ground, his powers started to make a loud buzzing and then explode again and turn off permanently. Eh, what? Look, I know were reading about superheroes with crazy powers, but Marvels trying to show us that the Marvel U government treats superheroes like weapons that need to be registered and that the rules of reality now apply to the Marvel U, but powers can also turn on or off because of explosions? Is the only way to keep Speedball around to turn him all grim and gritty? Methinks they missed the point about why people like these characters.

This series is a true Infinite Crisis Aftermath in the sense that the fallout of ICs shlocky ending has turned up here, and if you want to be reminded of the most poorly planned aspects of the Crisis, The Spectre is here to remind you. Haunting in the worst way.

Milo: In almost every sense. Good intentions and gradual development are meaningless if the bulk of the story is a presentation on wheel-spinning. The few quirky jokes are undercut by the endless tangents and circular debate. The art can be practically ignored since it plays no role in enhancing the script. But if you desperately need another dose of the G&D bwahaha-fest, here it is.

But credit where credit is due: DC has managed to keep me entertained up to this point, and now that this exercise in excess is out of the way, let s hope Infinite Crisis was just a bridge to better stories.

While its something of a relief that the character of Jim Reaper finally quits being a wuss toward the end of the story, its not a significant enough transformation to redeem the book although at least its deliberately not supposed to be funny. While Hellions is a clear improvement over Jim Reaper in terms of plot, characters and intent, it improves in basic aspects that we should really be taking for granted in order to highlight more clever storytelling and dialogue. When your bragging point happens to be, Well, at least this one has an ending, you still have a long way to go before producing a product that can compete in the industry.

This Annual marks a momentous occasion, as Bendis actually wraps up multiple loose threads into a complete story with scenes of both talking heads and action all wrapped into one issue! Ah, but if that werent the only strength of this issue . . .

Maybe Morrison was pissed that the mini series saw three different artists in four issues, and he threw up his arms in outrage, but no one was around to care at the time, so he sat back down and rewrote the series so that only he and the five people who understood Rock of Ages from his JLA run would appreciate it. Maybe he thought that if six of the mini series did made sense, he could get away with one that didnt. Or maybe Im just missing something painfully obvious that a fourth rereading will clear up.

The people who read Shadowpact want to find out whats so special about the magic users of the DCU, since thats its only differentiating factor. So whats so special? Not much at all.

Given that its months away before Jeph Loeb has any new projects coming out, I hope he takes the time to gather himself and refocus his energy. Delays of his books aside, their quality just isnt what it once was. Its understandable and worth our sympathy, but it still doesnt make for good comics.

The first issue of The Boys only reinforces my impression that Ennis is a one-trick pony, and if youve never heard of his one amazing trick, its called Preacher and you really should give it a try. Its one of the most clever, original, insightful and heartfelt reads in comics, but if you dont like that kind of stuff, you could always settle for The Boys.

Its official: Daniel Way is Marvels new golden boy, a writer whose surrounding hype and praise is incongruous with the quality of his work.

As an admonition to all creators, not just the culprits named above: do your goddamn homework. If you get the name of a galaxy wrong, the galaxy isnt going to care. But if you depict one of the fastest economically successful nations in the world as a third world dung farm, youre doing a lot more damage than simply making your comics look bad.

Boom! Studios reminds me quite a bit of the late Crossgen: quality creators working on a variety of genres with worthy artists, like Greg Scott here, who would make wonderful comics if each series wasnt an empty attempt to mimic a particular genre without having anything new to say. Even the meaningless title, X Isle, seems like nothing more than a cheap grab for brand recognition. But, you know, maybe Michael Bay would be proud.

You know what X Isle is missing from the usual Hollywood formula? Comedy relief. I vote that in issue four the characters come upon a stranded and bloodthirsty native who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jim Varney.

Logistics failures aside, the early days of these characters in no way benefit from a more modernized retelling. Nothing within these pages will redefine our impressions of these characters nor apply to their current status quos, what with Jean Grey six feet under, Angel off in limbo, Cyclops in control of his optic blasts and Beast a demented-looking cat. What remains is a throwaway story that has little to do with the X-Men and falls into the same trap it was accused of when Byrne wrote it: redundancy.

Lastly, we at the Department are welcome to attempts at presenting political situations in a fictional setting. However, we do not appreciate when the politics depicted show a heavy bias one way or another, despite our own personal leanings. No matter the level of subtlety involved, misrepresentation is misrepresentation and a bias shines bright and clear. Save it for the blogs.

If you thought the Creeper pages in Brave New World were dreadful, here are twenty-two pages of more of the same. The only shining light is Justinianos rendition of the Creeper, but like most of the artists on BNW books, hes woefully paired with an incompetent writer on a project guaranteed to sell poorly. Beware the Creeper #1.

Im eagerly looking forward to the next issue, written by and dedicated to Sam Loeb, but I hope its a long time before I pick up another comic by a Loeb.

Aside from that bright and blazing cover, this whole relaunch seems to be a mistake. Johns Flash was wonderful. Why couldnt they just have gotten a lesser writer to milk that formula until it was stale? Im all for experimenting, but this is quite awful.

Because this special is oversized, Simone makes sure to fill every page with more inanity and poor writing, and I really dont feel the need to highlight more of it. The one saving grace is Eagleshams art, but given the confusing and nonsensical layouts he has to draw, hes as much a victim of the script as are the readers.

But then Im usually a tough costumer when it comes to humor. If something doesnt have me in stitches, it really wasnt trying hard at all. I smiled once through the course of these twenty-two pages. Thats a failed formula in my book. Back to the drawing board.

The only benefit of this being a Max book is that surely no one will pay any attention to it. It follows gracelessly behind the inspired Marvel Zombies series and hopefully no one will think to associate the two. R.I.P.

Sometimes its the simple things that matter: clean and geometric panels, character names, motivations, one scene at a time. The creators need to slow down and figure out first how to actually tell the story before attempting anything stylistic, daring or challenging to the production. Right now the only challenge for me is figuring out what it is I just read.

If Marvel wanted to cause a stir with Illuminati (a name which is never used in the actual story, nor does it have anything to do with the New Avengers), then theyve more than succeeded by talking down to the intelligence of their readers. The use of the Marvel Universe is illogical, the characters are given forced positions with no rational motivations and the controversy is anything but. Which side am I on? Sorry, Illuminati, Im on the side of quality stories, not forced and contrived events.