This first arc ends with Luke coming to grips with who he is in respects to who made him the way he is now. While it wraps up a little quick, this has been a stellar beginning to a series we hope is around for a while. Read Full Review

For all its flaws, Luke Cage #5 provides a damn fine finale to the first arc. Its fun, dramatic, and moves Lukes character forward in an interesting manner. I recommend this one and look forward to what writer David F. Walker will do with the Power Man next. Read Full Review

LUKE CAGE was an excellent read, despite lacking some artistic zing for me personally. Action-packed, emotional and just real enough with its troubles to be worrisome, I highly recommend picking up the first issue and getting lost in the fight for justice with a hero for hire. Read Full Review

This issue closes out the first arc. While the story wasn't bad it wasn't a great arc to start a new series with. Unless all these characters are major players going forward it kind of did not set up any real supporting cast. The art to me has been one of the worst things about this book. It literally looks like the snickers ad art when they do the little strips. Not my cup of tea.

The New Orleans story comes to a tragic end and Dr. Burstein firmly sticks the "mad" - as in psychologically *wrong* mad - in mad scientist. Luke displays some awesome skills that go beyond punching; the way he deals with KevLar at the start is brilliant. Nelson Blake's art is dragging this book down for me. From the rushed "close enough" characters to the column-dropping Morgan mansion, the visuals are consistently underwhelming. There are some good, expressive faces and a few nice action poses, but they're drowning in a sea of regrettable panels.