Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book.

21 February 2007

52 Week Forty-Two: "Trigger Effect": Oh. Wow. Oh, what a payoff. Wow. Man. Wow. Recommended.

Checkmate #11: "Corvalho Part One": A strange misprint on the second and third pages made them hard to read in our copy of this book. Otherwise, it's another solid installment of a solid book. Waller is some piece of work, isn't she? Recommended.

The Flash #7: "Speedquest Chapter 1: Angel City": Not a bad jumping on point. It's a set-up story, which is what I needed, since I haven't picked up Flash in awhile. Mildly recommended.

Brave and the Bold #1: "The Lords of Luck: Roulette": A solid Silver Age-y book that is well worth checking out. Recommended.

Ion #11: "Lovers & Enemies": I could still dump this book in a second, but at least Soranik shows up. Mildly recommended.

Shadowpact #10: "Cursed": I really liked this one. The team may be cursed, but this is a pretty good book. Recommended.

Superman #659: "Angels": Whoa. Very interesting standalone story, that also happens to work within the greater arc. Highly Recommended.

Birds of Prey #103: "Truth or Dare": Oracle losing control of her spiderweb, intriguing. Recommended.

Aquaman: Sword of Altantis #49: "Dreams of the Fisherman": A great ending to a good story. This revamp of The Fisherman is one of the more successful retcons of a villain in a long time. I love it. Highly recommended.

Powers #23: I just wish this story would speed up the pace a little. Otherwise pretty good. Mildly recommended.

Star Trek: The Next Generation #2: "Captain's Pleasure": Nice little mystery, in the Star Trek style. Not bad. Mildly recommended.

Local #8: "food as substitute": Megan needs to crawl her way back from the depths she's hit, and I think the end of this one started that process. Mildly recommended.

The Spirit #3: "Resurrection": A retelling of the origin of The Spirit, and a good 'un. Recommended.

DMZ #16: "Public Works 4/5": Man, what a cliffhanger. This is a painful book, but wow, it is GOOD. Recommended.

PS238 #20: Time travel is the most difficult of concepts to deal with in a comic book, but I do believe Aaron Williams has managed it this time. Highly recommended.

Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book.

17 January 2007

52 Week Thirty-Seven: "Secret Identities": Way to spoil the story on the cover. Sheesh. And the "Secret of 52" as revealed in the code is the back is hardly a secret at all (Both JSA and Ion have made that clear already). But it's got a great little cliffhanger or two, and just what is Skeets?!?? Recommended.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #48: "Here Be Monsters": I've been waiting for this story since Kurt told me about it in that phone call over a year ago. And it completely lives up to my expectations. Highly recommended.

Green Lantern #16: "Wanted: Hal Jordan" chapter three: Not entirely bad. Very mildly recommended.

JLA Classified #32: "The 4th Parallel Point of Origin": A new villain, and most of the book is taken up with his origin. Mildly recommended.

Birds of Prey #102: "Freedom of Motion": Oooh, I like Lois versus Barbara face-off. Very fun. Recommended.

Shadowpact #9: "Three Laws Safe": Nice statement of the laws of superheroics. Recommended.

Spirit #2: "The Maneater": Wow, second issue and we're already getting some background on P'Gell. Cool. Recommended.

Wisdom #2: "The Village That Walked Like A Woman": Sorry Paul, you know I love ya and all, but I just can't get into this book. Pete Wisdom doesn't interest me, and the writing style that works so well for prose seems jumpy in this comic. I hate to do this to you: Not recommended.

Conan #36: "Silent to the Sea": Nice finish to the Pict story. I still wish Kurt was on the book. Mildly recommended.

Stardust Kid #5: "An Endless Ending": I wanted to like this book. But I didn't. Not recommended.

Phantom #14: "Walker's Line" part one: Nice flashback tale tying into other stories. Mildly recommended.

Castle Waiting vol II #4: OOOOH! OOOOH! More about Lady Jain's lover, Pindar's father. Lots of neat stuff spilled in this one. Highly Recommended.

24 January 2007

52 Week Thirty-Eight: "Breathless": This one had very little of interest for me in it. Very mildly recommended.

Checkmate #10: "The End in Sight": Well, that explains why no one can infiltrate Kobra. Mildly recommended.

DMZ #15: "Public Works 3/5": I didn't think Matty would go through with it, but I'm not entirely sure just what he did. Recommended.

Noble Causes #26: Too much going on that I don't understand. I'll probably enjoy this one more once I've seen where it's going. Mildly recommended.

Fallen Angel #12: Asia Minor actually comes across as creepy in this one. Mildly recommended.

Mouse Guard #6: "A Return to Honor": Very soon I'm going to sit down with all six issues and read this one through from the beginning. And I bet it'll get even better when I do. Recommended.

True Story, Swear to God #3: Lots of good bits in here, from Tom dealing with a neighbor's barking dog to Lily's act of shaving her head being an inspiration. Highly recommended.

Yay! I'm caught up again! Well, except for that review copy I just got from Larry and the Previews review. But hey, I'm closer than I've been for many weeks.

Really Rapid Reviews

Time to try to catch up on my reviewing... These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book.

13 December 2006

52 Week Thirty-Two: "Seven Days in Nanda Parbat": I really have to wonder how Dibny's tale is going to end. Mildly recommended.

Justice League of America #4: "Being Human": This is a confusing morass of a story with a mildly shocking ending. Neutral.

JLA Classified #30: "Secret History, Sacred Trust" part five: Aquaman talking about horses and zebras? Um. Ok. Mildly recommended.

DCU Infinite Holiday Special: Cute. Some of the stories were great, one was incomprehensible, and there was even an Elseworlds marked as an Elseworlds. Recommended.

Batman #660: "Grotesk" part 2: Too many characters all fluffled together. I might enjoy the story if I could keep it straight. Mildly recommended.

Green Lantern Corps #7: "The Dark Side of Green" part one: Wow, I'm just so uninterested in this book that I wonder why I bothered to read it. Neutral.

Spirit #1: "Ice Ginger Coffee": Wow, that's jumping right into it! I think I like this, let's see if it stays good. Recommended.

Fallen Angel #11: "The Long, Slow Seduction of Jude" part one: Still strangely compelling. I don't know why I read this book, but I continue to read it. Mildly recommended.

DMZ #14: "Public Works 2/5": Nasty, nasty, nasty. Ouch. Recommended.

PS238 #19: I named it best book of 2006, what more do you need? Seriously, a great finale to an interesting story. Highly recommended.

20 December 2006

52 Week Thirty-Three: "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year": It feels like the story took a break for Christmas. Oh well. Very mildly recommended.

Checkmate #9: "Pawn 502" part 2: Nice. I just like the way this book puts pieces together. It is like a chess game. Recommended.

Birds of Prey #101: "Broken Wing": I really like Zinda. But I'm not sure about the rest of the gang. Mildly recommended.

Ion #9: "Off on a Tangent": Ok, I like the Tangent universe... but just what's up with this? Mildly recommended.

Shadowpact #8: "Ragtime": I like the backstory on Ragman. Very cool. Recommended.

Secret Six #6: "Cutting the Cord": I don't think I'll be getting any more minis featuring these guys. Neutral.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #47: "Coral Song": Nice ending to the flashback, nice fleshing out of Aquaman's world. Recommended.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis TPB: "Once and Future": A basic collection. I would've enjoyed it more if there were some extras... any extras. Recommended, but only if you don't have the individual issues.

Conan #35: "They Shall Be Lords Again": Not a bad little tale, but not enough to make me regret dropping this book. Mildly recommended.

Next up: I try to finish last year's books and get into this year. Wish me luck. I need it.

Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book.

15 November 2006

52 Week Twenty-Eight: "Beyond the Black Stump": Just what is Lobo actually up to? And is anyone else confused at Red Tornado's status because of this book and Justice League? Mildly recommended.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #45: "Watery Grave": Oh, I'm so pathetic. I can't look at that cover speech balloon without thinking "NO, To the PAIN!" Ahem. I enjoyed this issue. Recommended.

Birds of Prey #100: I like the few scenes we got of female supers in the DCU responding to Oracle. I just wish Mera had been one of them! Both stories were good, but I hope Black Canary stays in the book in some form. Recommended.

Checkmate #8: "Pawn 502 Part 1": Oh, now that is intriguing. And I have to wonder who Mr Terrific wants as his bishop. Mildly recommended.

Green Lantern Corps #6: "The Price of Duty": Soranik Natu is the only character in this book so far that I care at all about, and while her bits were good, there weren't enough of them! Mildly recommended.

Shadowpact #7: "The Laws of Battle": I'm liking this book more with each issue. It's not a top book for me, but I'm enjoying it. Mildly recommended.

Astro City The Dark Age Book Two #1: "Eyes of a Killer, one of four": Back to the two brothers. I find myself drawn into their tale again, and when the book ended I just wanted more. Recommended.

Squadron Supreme #7: "Turnabout": I'm losing interest in this book so rapidly that I don't think I'll be getting it much more. Neutral.

What If... Spider-Man The Other: That's a twist on that tale I didn't expect, but in the end it wasn't really as intense as I was hoping for. Mildly recommended.

Phantom #13: "Tiger's Blood part 2": If I understood this, a man who thinks the Phantom is responsible for his love's death hatches an elaborate plan to kill the Phantom using, basically, a fear gas. Hrm. Not bad, but not the best. Mildly recommended.

Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: one sentence per book (unless I feel like writing a bit more) with whether or not I recommend the book.

18 October 2006

52 Week Twenty-Four: "Just Imagine": Ambush Bug? Mildly Recommended.

Birds of Prey #99: "Headhunt Part Four: Class Dismissed": The Batgirl is annoying, but worse is that the Birds are breakin' up. Neutral.

Checkmate #7: "Rogue Squad, Part Two": Amanda Waller is quite the witch, isn't she? Mildly Recommended.

Conan #33: "Dogs of the Hills": There is definitely something lacking in this book since Busiek left it. I'm slowly (very slowly) losing interest in it. Mildly Recommended.

Noble Causes #24: My only nit with this book is that I really dislike the way Race is drawn. Except for that, it's Recommended.

Shadowpact #6: "The Wild Hunt": It's a fun one, with a balanced level of explanation and action. Recommended.

Catching up again.