The The new year is less than a month old, but Ellis and Cassaday have already given us one of the best single issues of 2005. Even if youre not a Planetary fan, you can still give this issue a try and appreciate excellent execution of the comic book craft.

The Pulse combines the bright, shiny regular Marvel Universe with the strong characters from Marvel MAXs Alias. The result is the best of both worlds well-developed characters doing whats right in the right way while we get to watch.

The A menacing villain, excellent superhero action and an ever-deepening mystery. If Grant Morrisons X-Men run was number one this decade because of intellectual depth, Whedons is number one this decade because of kinetic action.

The Davids half-decade away from the character has done nothing to dull his understanding of Banner and the Hulk. While the issue provided little chance for Davids patented snappy dialogue, the piercing insight into the Hulk more than makes up for it. With luck, this is the first issue of another Peter David decade-long run as writer of The Incredible Hulk.

The The Hulk is always the most entertaining when its about the psychological aspects of the character, not mindless destruction. The subplot of the Hulk as Banners imaginary friend is as interesting as the mystery about the island. This is one story paced for the trades thats worth every issue.

The The first two issues of New Avengers are as good as Disassembled was bad. Bendis and company satisfied one half of the team book equation: action. It remains to be seen how the team will interact with each other in quiet moments (plus where Wolverine fits in), but this is a good start.

The Yes, this team (which is absent three members this issue, if the promotional images are any indicator) is not your traditional Avengers line up. Yes, the way in which they were formed was ham-fisted and awkward at best. And yes, this issue is another strong one in a run everyone should give a chance before casting a negative vote against it.

Rapid action and a traditional comic book cliffhanger make this issue another example of the fine work of Messrs. Waid and Wieringo with Marvels First Family.

Waid and Wieringo delivered an excellent Dr. Doom story awhile back. With the FFs second-most iconic foe in their sights, theyre set to repeat. Too bad this is their last go-round with Marvels First Family. Hopefully itll be their best.

The The penultimate issue of Rising Storm is a solid one. Constant action, sprinkled with character moments and a chuckle or two and a cliffhanger give readers of parts one and two ample reason to pick up issue three.

The The Walking Dead started out strong with an innovative concept and diverse cast of characters. Too many characters and poor pacing severely weaken the product. If you want to see the zombies attack, pick up the next issue. Despite a lot happening in this issue, you wont miss much.

The This series was veering off into something of a ditch over the past few issues. Its back on the road and headed in the right direction. There's hope the yet-fully explored prison and yet-fully exploited tensions with the prisoners will take this series to new levels of enjoyment.

The Something made me restrain from passing on the title this week and dropping The Walking Dead from my reading roster. Im glad I gave it one more issue. The best series have readers asking questions. This title has rekindled that urge. Add a bucket of blood, yet another surprise ending and intriguing subplots that simmer just below the main questions. The result is one of comics better titles just waiting for Hollywood to come knocking with a picture deal.

The The survivors are finally accepting their dark new world wont change anytime soon. The cliffhanger and next issue teaser promise a higher body count next issue. This is a good thing for readers, because it keeps us coming back for more.

Its no mystery why this is the biggest hit to come out of the summer. Whatever larger changes occur as a result of his mini-series, hopefully DC will resist the urge to undo them. The quality of this survey deserves no less. Itll be a long month until issue #5

The With one issue to go, its unlikely that the obvious answer from this issue is the final answer. My money remains on Lex Luthor being the puppet master behind the murders. But even if Im wrong, its the most fun Ive ever had being wrong.

The The crisis is over and the guilty have been caught. While the killers identity could have been more satisfying, the journey from issue #1 to issue #7 was a hell of a ride. It will be interesting to see the consequences of this play out over the next year.

Another superstar creative team, another Everything and the kitchen sink storyline. Given the level of brutality in The Ultimates and Wolverines penchant for violence, this could have been classic. Instead, so far, its merely okay.

The Wolverines bloody tour of the Marvel Universe comes to an end with this issue. It was very entertaining and successful for readers; less so, I imagine, for those who actually lived through it. While the white heat of this saga couldnt likely sustain itself for more than one story, it was great fun for the duration.

The A serviceable story about a key point in the history of one character, not the history of the Marvel Universe. The happy ending is a nice change of pace for a character who constantly struggles for happiness. The fact the Marvel Universe keeps spinning one way or the other demonstrates Jessica Joness minimal impact so far.

The Solid art, good action and a sense of motion result in a good Hulk issue. As a What If? much like the Brian Michael Bendis issues of this fifth week event its lacking the fantastic elements and ambiguous ending. A good effort but ultimately a little weak.

The The Ultimates works best when the smothering sense of cynicism and dash of left-wing politics is balanced with excellent action and heroics courtesy of Millars pacing and Hitchs pencils. By excising the latter, this issue drowns the former, providing excellent filler for the trade collection, but makes for a weak stand alone issue.

The This is one of those issues where stuff happens, but nothing happens. Characters are changed and the status quo is altered, but the issue reads a little hollow. The series will pick up when our heroes put their costumes back on and resume smashing the bad guys.

The Well, Millar has finally set up the fight between Thor and the Ultimates. The next issue should be wall-to-wall action with little to no character moments. This series would be a lot stronger if Millar could strike the same balance he did while writing The Authority.

The The Ultimates delivered a much-needed dose of action in this months issue. Who their next opponent will be is a mystery, but its a mystery worth reading. Plus its also good to have more Captain America quotes for IM Away messages.

Bendis and Maleev routinely turn out excellent stories about the Man Without Fear. When the standard is excellence, however, very good represents a step down and a disappointment.

The By now, were all used to Bendiss storytelling methods and gimmicks. While still effective, they are no longer a surprise. While little mysteries remain (Was that MGH Bont used to kill his associate? Why is Gladiator helping Bont? Will there be a new White Tiger?), its the big question that drives this series. What will be the status quo at the end of this story arc? Hopefully, Bendis has a good explanation for how Daredevil gets out of this one.

The Over the course of his run Bendis has created fully realized character in Matt Murdock and the struggles hes faced over the revelation about his identity. This story adds nothing to that. If you managed to miss these five issues, buy the trade only if you want a complete Daredevil collection.

Given the apparent changes in the status quo from the previous issue, Pfeifer could have made this a good jumping on point for new readers. A dearth of recapping, however, gives newbies ample reason to leave Swamp Thing in the bayou by himself.

The Avengers dont know whats going on. Neither do the readers. Since the Wizard World Chicago show revealed a post-Disassembled lineup featuring Spider-Man and Wolverine, Bendis must work hard to make reaching that point from this point exciting and plausible. Itll be a difficult challenge for Marvels mightiest writer.

The Captain America, Volume Five, Number One is more of the same. More of the muddled, negative and frustrated Captain America struggling with the same foes and inner turmoil. While this is his third number one issue in six years, its still the same old, same old.

Steve Dillons absence has been quite pronounced during this entire storyline, since his art is good enough to elevate a weak script. While MAX Punisher features naughty words and splattered brains, at least with Marvel Knights Punisher, wed get to see Spider-Man or Daredevil once and awhile.

The Since Im too young to get all gooey between the legs for Chris Claremonts ancient X-Men stories, the Age of Apocalypse stands as my favorite X-Men storyline. These two offerings do nothing to detract from that, but certainly do nothing to enhance them. I might have given the limited series , but the Age of Apocalypse one-shot is the most pointless book Ive reviewed since I started writing for Silver Bullet Comic Books. That drags the average down a little.