It’s really embarrassing for me to admit this but I’ve actually never read a Ninja Turtles comic. Therefore I’m still not sure if the grittier tone of this series is a new thing or just a standard in the TMNT comic book universe…. To the best of my knowledge the films and cartoons have always been much lighter fare. Whatever the case may be, they don’t lay the darkness on too thick and that makes the drinking and stabbing considerably jaw dropping when it does occur. All the characters that you would expect to see are here- this could easily be a ninja turtles movie. Still, there were more than a few new things that kept it all feeling fresh. I’m not totally crazy about the way Mateus Santolouco draws the turtles and the cover is god awful. But the fast paced action and Casey Jones’ alchoholic dad probably make TMNT #22 the most fun I’ve read this week. more

I wish David Finch was still drawing this book. Brett Booth does a good job on a few of the spreads and twist moments but feels subpar a lot of the time. Also, I don’t know why I care but villain Copperhead looks ridiculous, I’ve never seen a snake look that cute! The plot is less gloomy this month and it comes with a shocking ending that will hopefully turn out to be as transparent as I think it is. I’ll eat my hat if that’s not the shape-changing Martian Manhunter in disguise. And if it isn’t Martian Manhunter or some other trick then I’m gonna stop reading this book. The backup from Matt Kindt was also less credible this month. The idea that the Martian Manhunter is weak to fire because of survivor’s guilt is just a little too much- I can’t suspend my disbelief. Things are moving along at a good clip but the antagonists have yet to wow me. I started to read this book to see what Catwoman would be like on a team, but four issues in and my interest is on thin ice. Nice to see the invisible plane though. more

Going into this new all female X-book my hopes were high. It’s no secret that the X-Men boast some of the most iconic ladies in the Marvel universe. And there’s definitely some good things to see here- The cover looks amazing, it’s just so great to see all these ladies together! I’m also glad to see that this comic book didn’t become about protecting a baby, as that’s a plot device we’ve seen before in X-Men as well as in recent issues of Wonder Woman. There are, however, a few problems. Oliver Coipel’s pencils shine throughout but the layouts are a little awkward occasionally. The story is (with the exception of Jubilee) devoid of any real character development. Writer Brian Wood suffers from a fate all too common amongst x-writers- he seems to think I’ve read every X-Men comic published in the last three years. I don’t really know what an Omega sentinel is nor do I know exactly what Rogue’s powers are right now. I fortunately do know who bacterial villain John Sublime is, he’s a great character and I’m glad to see him here, although I wish he was drawn as the creep that he is. Maybe my expectations for this book were too great. Hopefully, with a good villain and a strong premise, X-Men will manage to get it together. more

I really didn’t want to like Scott Snyder. Anyone who puts a question mark shaped mohawk on the Riddler is pretty dumb in my book. Unfortunately, I’m a sucker for things involving marine life, so this 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea send-off proved irresistible. So far the plot seems to consist of a bunch of government hub bub around a newly discovered killer mermaid man. This wouldn’t be a totally amazing premise if it didn’t utilize intriguing plot points in three different time periods and a dynamic protagonist fueled by the desire to support her son. The Wake features great pencils by Sean Murphy, who draws in a shadowy jagged style a la Bill Scienkewicz. It’s also worth noting that the light blue and orange coloring job by Matt Hollingsworth is some of the best coloring being done right now. Sadly, the cover is ho hum, and the interior is occasionally difficult to interpret- but this is definitely a comic book reader’s comic book and it seems important to read all the visual details. Perhaps the most exciting thing about the Wake #1 is the possibilities it offers knowing that we’re promised 10 issues- I can’t wait to see what happens. more

This time travel oriented one-shot was enjoyable but might be my farewell read for this series. It starts out with a speech from Wolverine expressing his fears and hopes for the Jean Grey school while putting together a time capsule for it’s future generations. And although Wolverine’s motivations and ideals seem spot on, his candor seems a little too polished and not gruff enough. Still, the speech was a highlight and perhaps Wolverine is just trying to act more pro in front of the kids. Ramon Perez’s playful pencils are strong here, and the ending to this issue is also fairly charming and dynamic- but it’s set-up was somewhat anemic and made the ending’s delivery hard to understand. The brief glimpse of the future that we do get feels at times entertaining and at other turns over-stuffed- I feel like the oddball nature that made this series a delight earlier on is what’s making this comic overwhelmingly complicated. Aaron’s insistence in trying to create his own X-men universe forces us to spend too much time with his own uninteresting creations. outbreakblog.tumblr.com more

New comic The Bounce features a bouncy guy in a hazmat costume and appears to be a commentary on American drug culture. I don’t think I’ve ever opened a superhero comic book to see a full page image of it’s protagonist smoking a bong! Almost everyone in this comic is trying to alter their state of consciousness and it’s an intriguing premise. Also, there have been a couple bounce-powered superheroes in the past (Speedball and Bouncing Boy are the only one’s that come to mind) but it’s under-explored territory and this guy seems to be the first one of them that might actually be cool. What I didn’t enjoy here was a slight over-saturation of characters, as well as an important plot point that’s either paying homage to Star Gate or just blatantly ripping it off. There had to be some other way to draw that thing! Still, the art by David Messina is crisp enough and Bounce feels fairly fresh, partially thanks to a script that isn’t afraid of some well placed curse words. I’m interested to see what happens. outbreakblog.tumblr.com more

I don’t know what it is about Daredevil that makes him so easy to write well. Almost every time I open a comic about everyone’s favorite blind superhero I’m impressed by the tact and tastefulness of the art and story. Mark Waid and Chris Samnee continue that tradition and really give us something to write home about here, as we see Daredevil coping with his best friend Foggy’s battle with cancer. This conflict has given Waid a perfect device for suspense, as it’s often hard to be sure if Daredevil is accurately perceiving threats from his villains or simply over-reacting due to anxieties around Foggy’s treatment. The real tear jerking moments come in a back-up story involving Foggy hanging out at the children’s hospital. The decent artwork in this issue is made exceptional by an excellent coloring job- The only thing I can really complain about is the cover falling just a little flat.

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The debut issue of this WW2 sci-fi adventure comic has good pacing, fairly solid pencil work, and a lot of dinosaurs. It also sets us up with an archetypal team of spies ( the strong man, the vixen, the karate guy, the dude who knows something) who will inevitably serve as the protagonists of this series. Unfortunately, nothing feels very new here. About halfway through I had to look up if this was a spin-off of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs or the Lost World. And the female character looks an awful lot like Fatale. Let’s hope writer and artist Stephen Mooney is just setting up the pins so he can knock them down in the next couple of outings. more