Rapid Reviews - 25 May 2005 - Part I

DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy #1: "A Golden Age To Conquer": Was anyone else besides me mildly disturbed to see "Collector's Item" proudly proclaimed on the cover of this issue? Any time I see those words, I just assume the book is going to eventually be worthless. Admittedly, this issue has the first appearance of the new DC logo, nifty Phil Jimenez cover, and Garcia-Lopez being inked by George Perez interiors... but I still got a sinking feeling in my stomach when I was informed by the cover that this is a "Collector's Item". The story itself? I'm not overly impressed. More cosmic DC stuff. It's ok. Confusing. But ok. Maybe the next issue will make more sense.

The Grimoire #3: I want to like this book. I like the artwork, I like the initial concept, but I cannot connect with it. The characters are too vague, the situation is just rolling from one spot to another. I've ordered the next couple of issues, but I'm probably not going to bother ordering more unless the next issue really wows me.

Incredible Hulk #81: "Tempest Fugit Conclusion": Nope. Didn't "get" it. I just don't know enough about the Hulk, maybe, to understand this one.

Amazing Spider-Man #79/520: "Acts of Agression": Aunt May vs Wolverine, who wins? Oh c'mon, you have to ask? In any case, this is more like reading Avengers than Spidey, which isn't a good thing. I don't mean that it ruins the story, but it's not good. I'd rather read about the Avengers in the book titled "Avengers". This book should be all about Spidey. Still, it's not a bad story. I like the fact that Peter uses his connections to do some nice sleuthing. And I can't fault the art. And any time you get a battle between Aunt May and anyone, it's fun to read.

Outsiders #24: "The Insiders Part Two": Indigo goes bad. No big surprise there. I'm slightly annoyed that this is yet another Teen Titans/Outsiders crossover, but what can you do? It's not like DC listens to me when I say crossovers are a stupid thing. Anyway, this one is slightly weaker than average. Lots of fighting, almost no story.

Legion of Super-Heroes #6: Hrm. First issue I didn't really like. There were plenty of good bits, like Princess Projectra and Karate Kid's lesson, but as a whole this one didn't hang together as well. It felt disjointed and the Brainiac 5 flashback sequence felt like padding. I did, however, really like the letter column.