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I'm losing sleep, and possibly my mind as I try to catch up on interviews and schoolwork. Still, I had time to wade through the slew of good material this week, so let's get onward.

SPOTLIGHT ISSUES:

New Avengers Illuminati:

Extra-sized Bendis New Avengers special? I'm in. What's that? Alex Maleev, Bendis' longtime Daredevil collaborator, drew the book? No way. And it's the launching point for the Civil War event, includes a six page preview of Civil War #1, and ties together past events, the upcoming one, and Planet Hulk as well? Well crap, get out of my way, I need to read this thing. Any one of previous points would have been enough to get me to shell out the four bucks for this book, but put together they add up to a pretty impressive launching point. Tony Stark's prophetic statements about the upcoming conflict sent chills up my spine, and if you've ever cared about the Marvel Universe or even one of its characters, it'll probably have you as eager for the first issue of Civil War as it has me. Even with the extra buck tacked on, this issue is more than worth the price-a must read.

Blue Beetle #1:

Yep yep, there's a new Blue Beetle in town, just months after Ted Kord's body went cold. Our new hero is a young man named Jaime Reyes, living in El Paso, Texas (as an amusing side note--El Paso is pretty happy to have a major comic set in their town, as this news article shows: http://www.ktsm.com/story_news.sstg?c=1812. Second amusing side note-the article says that the Blue Beetle fights "the evil Green Lantern" in this issue. The evil Green Lantern, of course, is just a grumpy Guy Gardner. Oh you crazy non-comics fans. Will you ever learn?) The book is written by the wonderful Keith Giffen, and illustrated by the heavily Immonen-influenced Cully Hamner. I enjoyed this book a lot--the new Blue Beetle suit is definitely…new, but it works in this book quite well. I found Jaime to be an incredibly likeable character, due in large part to Giffen's writing-usually young heroes come off as whiny and annoying, but Jaime never feels that way, if only because his friends do. Worth checking out--I hope this issue is an indication of things to come for this new Blue Beetle in the DCU.

FUN SIZE REVIEWS:

Robin #148 (One Year Later):

I'm officially hooked on the OYL titles. DC has done a great job of throwing out hints, snatching them back, and keeping me on my toes across the board. Two characters they'd hinted at as possibly being dead in recent weeks make appearances here, and Robin makes mention to Batman of what the two of them, as well as Dick Grayson, had been up to for a year. Wonderful stuff-this is one of my favorite OYL books so far, so be sure to check it out.

X-Men Deadly Genesis #5:

Professor X returns to the Marvel U for the first time since House of M #1, and he has some serious 'splainin to do. The third Summers brother has revealed himself, and we heard his back story in the last issue. In this one, he brings Xavier out to answer for his crimes--what we get instead is a shocking revelation (that I really should have seen coming) that every X-fan will want to read.

Superman/Batman #24:

Shipping delays on this book have made it really hard for me to enjoy what objectively seems like a good story--I'll probably pick up the trade and be able to judge it better then, but as it was I was confused for most of this book. As much as I love Jeph Loeb, I didn't really love this month's issue of Superman/Batman, which was surprising because I usually look forward to this title.

Action Comics #837 (Up, Up, and Away Part 2 AND an OYL):

We found out in the first issue of this crossover that something is different with Clark Kent, and in this issue it's confirmed: Superman is no longer super. The good news is…he's still a really good journalist? I'm really interested to see where they're going with this…

All-Star Superman #3:

But while mainstream DCU has a bold new Superman, this title continues to do the Superman we've always wanted to see, iconic and classic, without being stale or boring. The art, by Frank Quietly, manages to get even better with each issue. If you've loved the first two issues of Grant Morrison's take on Superman, you'll love this one as the streak of perfection keeps rolling on.

Ultimate Spider-Man #92:

Second part of the Deadpool arc--in this issue we find out a little more about the background of Deadpool and his associates, who kidnapped the X-Men and Spider-Man in the last issue. A pretty cool piece of the X-Men's past comes back to haunt them and Spider-Man, in what looks to be maybe the best team-up to date in the Ultimate Universe.

TRADE REVIEW:

Alias Omnibus:

I'm such a sucker for books I can't afford. This $70 book includes all 28 issues of Bendis' MAX title, Alias, plus the What if Jessica Jones Became an Avenger? comic. This title features Bendis' great writing, Michael Gaydos' great art, as well as some guest art by Mark Bagley and David Mack…it also has more "fucks" in it than just about any other book you'll find at a comic store. This is a great series, one of my favorites of all time, so I wasn't all that surprised to find myself buying it. I was surprised to see that there weren't more special features in it though--for a book this pricey, there were really only 15 pages or so that I hadn't seen before. Still, if you have the money and you're looking to add a great edition of this gritty, private eye-level view of the underbelly of the Marvel U to your collection, this book is worth the buy.

NEWS BRIEFS:

In the calm after the con, there isn't much news to report still. I'll be back next week to give you a brief rundown of the Civil War event and the titles it will be affecting, as well as a few new ones it will be launching.

Thanks for reading-hope you enjoyed it. If you did, send me some love, and if you didn't, shoot me some hate. All that and more should be directed to skio84@charter.net. See you next week for the (sniff) next to last issue of Infinite Crisis.

Hey all--this is going to be another quickie since my comic-senses are still recuperating from Wizard World LA last weekend--I hope you checked out the coverage, but if you didn't, go now. I've also been super busy writing and sending interviews to some pretty cool names in the business, which you're sure to hear more about later. Anyway, it's a bit of a slow week, so we'd better get onward.

(NOTE: To read the Pulp Fiction portion of Mike's Wizard World coverage, click this link-Wizard World LA Central.)

SPOTLIGHT ISSUES:

Catwoman #53 (One Year Later):

The OYLs just keep rolling in, and Catwoman is one book that's benefiting from the change. The book pre-OYL was lacking direction--Pfeifer was writing it well, but the stories were lackluster, except for the last issue, when Catwoman appeared to shoot Black Mask in the face, a reaction to the revelation that Zatanna had played with her mind to make her become a hero. Now, One Year Later, we have a hell of a different world for Catwoman. Selina Kyle is no longer wearing the costume, having passed the mantle to a less experienced woman, Batman is chummy with Selina again, and Selina is…pregnant?!? That's right, pregnant. I was a bit concerned with the premise behind the OYL jump, but I've really enjoyed looking at all the hints and clues about what went down over the last year--Selina is going to give her baby a rather familiar name, possibly in memory of a fallen comrade? Who knows? In any event, they've got me hooked, even if it does take a full year to find out how we got to this brave new DCU.

FUN SIZE REVIEWS:

Incredible Hulk #93 (Planet Hulk Part 2):

Well, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm officially looking forward to reading a Hulk book every month. Greg Pak is writing a Hulk that has readable, enjoyable dialogue, and still gets into four or five massive smash-fests per issue. What else could I ask for?

Batman #651 (Face the Face Part Two AND an OYL):

The Face the Face story continues in this week's Batman, and the villain body count keeps climbing. I miss the Judd Winick days already, but this has been an interesting story, and I like the semi-classic Batman that has returned once again.

New Avengers #17:

The Collective arc continues, as one of the most interesting post-House of M stories on the shelves. Even better, it's being drawn by Mike Deodato, who has elevated his style from his excellent run on Amazing Spider-Man, with a harder line on some characters. Crazy ending--well worth the read.

Daredevil #83:

This book will simply not let go. In the fallout of the last couple pages of number 82, Matt Murdock is briefly allowed out of prison, and then put back into the general population portion of Ryker's. This is a Matt Murdock/Daredevil with less control than any incarnation since Frank Miller's Born Again story. Look for some serious kicking ass and demanding names in this issue and the ones to come.

Wolverine #40:

This somewhat confusing but entertaining arc about Wolverine's exploration of his past is wrapping up with this ish, but the quest will continue in the new monthly book Wolverine: Origins, to be released in April. This issue is the best of the arc, and by the end of it I got excited about that new book for the first time. We'll have to see where it goes. This arc and this issue are worth the price for the art alone.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #28:

In this new, super powers-filled world, Thor is president and Reed Richards his vice-president. Ben Grimm is the only person in the world who doesn't have "special abilities," and all diseases have been cured. But the peace and prosperity have come from…Ultimate Super-Skrull? That might not be so good…

Amazing Spider-Man #530:

Tony Stark and Peter Parker head to Congress to argue with the government about the new Superhero Registration Act, which will serve as the catalyst for the upcoming Civil War. Also, as ugly as it is, there's some good new-costume related comedy in this book. Worth checking out, especially if you're planning on reading the Civil War series.

TRADE REVIEW:

Runaways Vol. 5: Escape to New York:

Brian Vaughan can do anything. He can do heartfelt, he can do tongue-in-cheek, he can do funny and he can do action. And in this excellent arc of Runaways, he does superstar-studded crossover without having it feel cheap or contrived. This arc sees the Runaways traveling to New York to assist Cloak, who's been framed for assaulting his partner Dagger; along the way they have a number of hilarious meetings with various New Avengers. This book is a convenient jumping on point for people who haven't read the book much or at all, and it's a wonderful story with excellent art. On top of that, it's six issues (albeit digest-sized) of a great monthly book for only eight dollars! No excuse to not pick this one up.

NEWS BRIEFS:

Oh no, I'm not going to retype all the news from the convention. You'll have to read the convention reports if you want to hear what happened. And some of it was pretty cool.

Thanks for reading everyone. I'm going to go crawl into a sleep-coma for a few days, but I'm sure I'll make it back out in time to write another column. See you then. Send all or nothing at all to skio84@charter.net.

This is going to be a pretty barebones column--just reviews of the weekly books. I'm really busy, due to an enormous amount of prep work for the Wizard World LA Con this weekend. I'm going to be doing some corresponding for this website and for Newsarama.com, so look for that to be up this weekend. Onward!

SPOTLIGHT ISSUES:

Annihilation: Prologue:

This is the kickoff to one of Marvel's two big events this year. After this issue, four miniseries (Silver Surfer, Nova, Super-Skrull, and Ronan) will launch next month, and run monthly until August, when the Annihilation series proper begins. In this issue, we find out what the event is that starts the whole thing, and I won't spoil it for you, except to say that as the problem spreads, it catches the attention of all of the characters listed above who are about to get their own books, affecting them in one way or another. With a gorgeous cover by Secret War painter Gabriel Dell'Otto (who will be doing the covers for all the Annihilation books), and an excellent story and script by Keith Giffen, this book does a good job of setting the stage for the next year's worth of stories. Coming into it, I knew very little about Marvel's cosmic heroes, save for Nova and the Surfer, and I came out of this issue with a clear sense of what's going on, and an appetite for what's to come. Giffen does a great job of filling new readers in on history without making them feel like they're reading a textbook, and the art, by Scott Kilins and Ariel Olivetti, would look flat out bad in any book but this one--here, the odd coloring and often inconsistent linework seem the only way to draw it. An excellent opening shot, and a must read for this week, and, I'm guessing, a must read for months to come.

Infinite Crisis Secret Files:

We have to wait a few weeks for the next issue of Infinite Crisis, but fortunately the Secret Files will tide us over. This book consists of three stories, all penned by Marv Wolfman, as well as the usual bio entries in the back. The stories are the histories of Alexander Luthor, Superboy Prime, and Earth-2 Superman, as we see what life was like living in limbo for each of them, as Luthor manipulated events in order to get what he wanted: another Crisis. Excellent info, great art, and the usual masterly Wolfman writing, this book is great--my only problem is the $6 price tag--no comic book at any size or importance should ever cost a reader more than five bucks, period. Still, I admit, it's probably worth it.

FUN SIZE REVIEWS:

Nightwing #118 (One Year Later):

This was the first OYL title to really grab my eye--Dick Grayson is in New York, and he's back to sleeping around with random girls, while appearing to be in mourning. Only problem is, there's a second Nightwing in town, one who's murdering people. The new Nightwing's identity will not shock you, but this book, by the mono-syllabic team of Bruce Jones and Joe Dodd, will entertain the heck out of you and leave you wanting more.

Superman/Shazam: First Thunder #4:

This is the final issue of this miniseries, which I think too many people passed over. I had high expectations going into this series, yet Judd Winick (writer) and Josh Middleton (artist) managed to exceed them. Winick writes a perfect Captain Marvel, better than I've ever read, and his Superman was perfect for the story as well. Grab all four issues of this mini if you get a chance--it's the tale of Cap's first meeting with Supes, and it's a book whose quality is worthy of such a momentous occasion.

Ultimate Extinction #3:

We finally start getting something resembling action in this story as Professor X attempts to make telepathic contact with Gah Lak Tus. As you can guess, it might not have been the best idea. This story is still a bit slow, but it looks like next issue is going to be a big one.

Superman #650 (OYL):

This is the second OYL title to really grab my eye; I've been eagerly awaiting the pairing of two of my favorite writers, Kurt Busiek and Geoff Johns, for awhile now. In OYL Metropolis things are strange as hell, with no Superman around and Lex Luthor sprung from jail. As good as I expected it to be, which was damn good. Much better than the new Green Arrow, a disappointing OYL title with a surprise that DC spoiled three months ago.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6:

This issue was kind of mediocre--I really like Peter David, but the art by Roger Cruz was unimpressive and familiar, and the story, Spider-Man battling a Bane-derivative Mexican wrestler was almost uninteresting. More troubling--Flash Thompson has come out of his coma and no longer remembers that he and Peter Parker were friends, or any of the last ten years. Sigh. Fingers crossed for the next arc.

Hope you enjoyed this abbreviated column--I hope to see some of you around at the con. I'll be the one running. If you have any comments or questions, or to arrange a rendezvous, email me at skio84@charter.net.

I'm not going to say I'm embarrassed for DC, but I'm sure not proud of them this week. After an incredible showing last week with a OYL issue of Detective, Batman: Secrets, the Batman Annual, and of course Infinite Crisis, they have a poor crop out this week, something like four books total. Still, there was a Batman and the Monster Men ish, so it's not all bad. Enough chit-chat--let's get to it.

SPOTLIGHT ISSUES:

The Pulse # 14:

It seems like we're losing a lot of great books recently, and The Pulse is another fantastic title that's kicking the bucket. Like Gotham Central, the decision to end the book was made by its creator, in this case Marvel wunderkind Brian Bendis. The Pulse was an extension of Alias, as it continued the chronicles of Jessica Jones, but this time focusing on her new job as a reporter for an all-superhero section of the Daily Bugle called, surprisingly, The Pulse. The title was drawn by such greats as Mark Bagley and Astro City artist Brent Anderson, and is some of Bendis' best, if overlooked, work. This last issue is a great one, too. This arc saw Jessica Jones deliver Luke Cage's child with some difficulty, and the end of last issue was a stunning proposal from Cage. This book is Jessica attempting to decide what to say (though Marvel hasn't made her decision a secret), and reflecting on the first time she met the Hero for Hire. A touching, personal book, to end a touching, character-driven series.

Spider-Man Unlimited #14:

The feature attraction in this semi-regular collection of two or three short Spider-Man tales (a great format more titles should utilize) is a story written by one of Marvel's best-kept secrets, and illustrated by one of its biggest stars. C.B. Cebulski, former Marvel editor and comics encyclopedia, penned the lead story, about a showdown between Spider-Man, the Black Cat, and Dr. Doom. By a sheer stroke of genius, David Finch was called in to illustrate it in between his New Avengers and Moon Knight gigs. The result is a story that could only work at the length it is, with great, tight writing, and unbelievable art--some of the best Finch has ever done. This story is worth the price of admission, and the backup is pretty good, too, especially if it leads into an arc in another book (which it probably won't).

FUN SIZE REVIEWS:

Ultimate Spider-Man #91:

Good as usual--it's hard not to take Bendis and Bagley for granted when they've been solid every issue they've done, without missing a week or to my recollection, ever shipped a book late. This is the beginning of the Deadpool arc, which sees among other things, Kitty Pryde don a Spider-Girl costume. Hey, it's better than the Iron Spidey one…

Sensational Spider-Man #24

: It was a big week for the wall-crawler…this is the second issue of the Feral arc, with new writer artist team Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Angel Medina. I'm still on board--I've liked the trend in Spider-Man books recently to play with the larger unifying themes of his villains, particularly the animalistic ones. This book features the second appearance of Black Cat this week, plus a pretty freakin' sweet Angel Medina version of the Lizard.

X-Men: The 198 #3:

It seems a bit like the wheels have fallen of this title, which started promisingly. It's a common fault of X-titles for one particular cool new power or mutant to become more important than the larger story of mutanity, and this book, which should be about the lives of the remaining clan of mutants on earth, is starting to turn into a sci-fi story about a guy whose chest monster makes little voodoo pod people. I'm sure this will move back to the bigger picture, but it probably never should have left it.

Son of M #4:

Meanwhile this book, which is supposed to be about Pietro Maximoff, is doing a much better job keeping me interested in the larger Marvel U, as Quicksilver and his recently kidnapped daughter attempt to use the Terrigen Mists to bring mutants' powers back to them. The last page is guaranteed to leave you drooling for the next issue.

Batman and the Monster Men #5:

I've been singing this book's praises for months, and even though I don't have a whole lot new to say about it, I'm singing them again. It's still perfect. Buy it. There's only one issue left, and if Matt Wagner can nail that one, he really will have penned one of the best Batman books of all time.

Teen Titans #33:

The rest of the DCU has jumped one year forward, but Teen Titans is just doing their last pre-OYL issue, since it's been a bit slow. DC finally wise up and put a warning at the top of this issue that "you should read Infinite Crisis #5 before you read this book," something many fans wish they'd done with the Sacrifice and OMAC books. Still, I'm glad they're getting the bugs worked out--it's a big universe they're building. This issue sees Nightwing and Superboy (the one with the black shirt) head off to take on Alexander Luthor and his giant golden tower. That fight should take place in the next Infinite Crisis, but this is worth the read for the interaction between golden boy Nightwing and poor pitiful me Superboy, who's finally trying to get his act together.

TRADE REVIEWS:

This week I took a crash course in the secret history of the Marvel Universe, reading the original 1980s Secret Wars and the just-released hardcover of Bendis' Secret War.

Secret Wars:

This book, which started publication of its 12 issues in 1984, was written by Marvel's editor-in-chief at the time, Jim Shooter. It was conceived as a way of selling a new line of toys, which is ironic because the feeling I had while reading the whole thing was a kind of nostalgia--I realized that this was exactly the kind of story I created every morning as a kid, playing with He-Man, Spider-Man, and Batman toys. The basic plot is simple--a force known as the Beyonder abducts some of earth's greatest heroes and villains, and sticks them aboard Battleworld, a newly created planet with ideal fighting conditions. All are told that if they vanquish their enemies, they will receive their greatest wishes. The plot is fairly self-contained and straightforward (unlike DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths, released a year after this book), and is really an incredible piece of storytelling, that I've heard a few different comic creators cite as an inspiration. With its incredibly imaginative style, I can see why--if you're a fan of action-filled superhero fun, or you're at all interested in comics history, this book is a must read. Several scenes (including one in which Spider-Man is mind-wiped by Professor X) seem as if they still have quite an influence on today's books--as well they should. Secret Wars is everything the little kid in you could ever want from a comic book.

Secret War:

Bendis' Secret War, lavishly (and slowly) painted by Gabrielle Dell'Otto, is everything the mature, gritty bastard in you could want from a comic book. It's a vicious, painful story about Nick Fury's decision to go behind the government's back for the greater good of the world, or so he thinks. He assembles a ragtag group of heroes, all of whom owe him something, to carry out his Secret War, a war that will have shocking repercussions and end up driving Fury out of SHIELD for good (maybe). The writing is up to snuff with Bendis' best material, and Dell'Otto's art, though I wasn't one of the unfortunates who suffered through buying these issues as they came out three or four months apart, is simply spectacular and worth the wait. This hardcover, which is fairly thick, only contains five actual issues he painted, and my only complaint is that I wish there were more of his art in it. This is really a unique, and wonderful story, though as much as I loved it, I'm not sure it's worth the $30 Marvel wants for it. If you've got it, this is a great thing to get with it certainly, and the special features (mostly SHIELD profiles) were good, but that works out to six bucks an issue, which seems really high to me.

Nothing to speak of in the way of news this week, since we're at the halfway point between the New York Comic-Con and the upcoming Wizard World LA con (which everyone who can should go to, by the way). Still, a double helping of trade reviews isn't bad, eh? Eh. If you've got any questions or comments, or complaints or compliments, don't hesitate to shoot me an email at skio84@charter.net. I'll leave the light on for you.

Happy Infinite Crisis week, comics fans. What a week––tons of huge books to check out. Lets get to it.

SPOTLIGHT ISSUES:

Infinite Crisis #5:

At this point, it’s pretty much pointless to discuss whether or not these books or good––if you’re reading them, you know they’re good, and if you disagree please email me. This issue is a little less action-focused than the last (keep in mind that an entire city disappeared from the map in the last book), but it does still feature, as the cover suggests, a brawl to end them all: Superman vs. Superman. The last page will knock your socks off, even if (as I did) you knew it was coming due to an unfortunate DC leak.

The Ultimates #10:

Wow is this book special––by the time Millar and Hitch finish their run up in a few issues, their two volumes of Ultimates will be able to stand up there with some of the finest work ever done in comics. They’ve taken the cinematic feel of the first volume, spun an actually interesting conspiracy story out of it, and thrown in three or four dozen jaw-dropping moments to boot. This issue shows us the origin of the team that appeared at the end of last issue, and we see find out why the Ultimates are called the Ultimates as they start to regroup from the horrendous assault. I can’t believe I have to wait something like two months for the next issue…If you aren’t buying this book, I urge you to do so.

Batman: Secrets #1:

Last time I was in the store, the esteemed webmaster told me that Sam Kieth is meant to draw the Joker. After reading this book, I have to agree, as well as add my own comment: he was meant to write him too. Yes, the focus of this book, as the title suggests, is on a secret in Batman’s past, but what really impressed me about this issue, aside from the unique art, was how well Kieth wrote Batman and his nemesis. His Joker combines elements of all the drastically different versions we’ve had of the oft-used character: clown prince, ruthless murderer, desperate comedian, and willing punching bag for the man in black. Kieth weaves all of these Jokers together to create an incredibly unique, yet very familiar Joker. This book, along with Matt Wagner’s Batman and the Monster Men, demonstrate the value of DC’s decision to let the reins go and allow some new voices to try a hand at the Dark Knight. This book looks like it could very well go up there with Monster Men on the list of must-read books for not just Batman fans, but all comics fans to boot.

FUN SIZE REVIEWS:

Ms. Marvel #1:

I never really cared about Ms. Marvel, and new writer Brian Reed explains why in this debut issue: she hasn’t been trying all that hard so far! Seems kind of like a lame cop-out for historically bad writing. Still, you can’t hold a character’s past against a current writer, so I tried my best to keep an open mind. The art is middle of the road, and stays much further out of cheesecake land than the Frank Cho cover seems to imply. The writing was everything I could expect from this book (again, admittedly not much): there’s girl talk, an inspiring message, and, in a happy twist, the return of the Brood at the end. Worth checking out, if it sounds good. We’ll have to see where Reed goes with the book in the next few months.

Detective Comics (One Year Later) #817:

It’s One Year Later, and everything has changed…yeah. Okay. I was understandably wary of this story, an eight part crossover with the Batman monthly, due to the under-performing War Games event and the downright awful War Crimes follow-up, but I was really pleased by this book, both for its OYL story and as the beginning of a crossover. I won’t give away all the new happenings of Gotham One Year Later, but I can say that most fans will be pleased at who’s behind the commissioner’s desk. Someone offs a Bat-villain in this ish, and a newly returned Batman and Robin must find out who.

Marvel Zombies #4:

Sweet! When I heard Marvel was doing a zombie spin-off, I was excited, and when I heard it was Robert Kirkman, I was ecstatic. But never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined some of the things that have gone on in this series, such as last issues devouring of the Silver Surfer. And where Galactus’ herald travels, Galactus can’t be far behind…read this issue. For your sake, read it.

Batman Annual #25:

If you read this issue expecting it to reveal what happened after last week’s Batman issue, you will be disappointed. If you read it as a textbook, detailed explanation of how Jason Todd came to still be alive, you’ll find it interesting, possibly maddening, but, if you’re like me, certainly an admirable book. It’s a good explanation that is neither entirely predictable nor entirely ridiculous. Worth the read if you’re at all curious about the current goings-on of Jason Todd.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5:

Peter David’s first non-The Other issue on Friendly Neighborhood is a stand-alone story about a woman who has been convinced for decades that Spider-Man is stalking her. This story has nothing to do with current continuity, for better or worse (I say better), but it’s a good story and an original one, something that’s hard to do. Y: the Last Man #43: Count on Brian Vaughan to deliver the WTF?!?!? last page better than anyone in comics, and count on this issue to deliver one of his best. Pia Guerra is back on art, to my delight, and the crew is reunited in Japan to search for Ampersand, also to my delight. Great issue.

DVD REVIEW:

Ultimate Avengers DVD:

Ultimate Avengers is the first full-length animated feature Marvel is releasing under its new Marvel Animated Features line. Future releases will include an Ultimate Avengers 2, Iron Man feature, and a Doctor Strange one as well, all to be released over the next year. If they can keep the quality as good as it was on this first release, they’ll really have something on their hands. Ultimate Avengers, as promised, kept closely to the comic, changing certain things to make it a better animated story–– the stumbling block was that this movie is 70 minutes long whereas it took a year for the books it’s based on to come out. As such, certain pieces of the plot had to be altered so that the pacing wasn’t thrown off. Sure, it would have been nice if it could have been exactly true to the book, and some of my favorite lines from the book were absent, but I understand––it would have been pointless to simply redo the book anyway, since it’s near perfect as it is. This animated movie captures the spirit of the Ultimates, and it’s incredibly well animated. The fight scenes were spectacular, but so was just someone walking across a room, or a helicopter; there was really a consistent tone and style to the whole picture that never jarred me or took me out of the story.

The voice acting was solid, though rarely great (many fans will be disappointed to find out that they did not, in fact, land Samuel L. Jackson to play Nick Fury). The Special Features were surprisingly good for a release as affordable as this one––there is a lengthy Avengers Assemble documentary featuring interviews with Tom Brevoort, George Perez, Kurt Busiek, Mark Millar, and Joe Quesada that was really enjoyable, though the last few minutes degenerate into a long “If you liked the movie, try these books…” commercial. There was also a featurette on the Ultimate Voice Talent Search, which was essentially comic geek American Idol rejects, and was absolutely hilarious, plus a brief Ultimate Avengers 2 tease that, along with how good this movie was, will leave you pretty damn excited for August of this year, when that set will come out.

MAILBAG:

Reader Jesse L. wrote in with the following Planet Hulk question––I’ve heard a few others murmuring the same sentiment, so I thought I’d answer it here in the debut of Mike’s Mainstream Mania Mailbag.

Mike––
I had a quick question on Planet Hulk. Do you know when it takes place? I know that it has Civil War repercussions, and some solicits make it sound like a "recent" prequel story, and others sound like this is something that happened years ago, and the fallout is about to come down in Illuminati and Civil War.
Jesse L.

Thanks for writing in, Jesse. The Planet Hulk event does indeed take place in current continuity, and, for all intents and purposes, you can assume that month by month, the Incredible Hulk book will match up with other Marvel releases. The last issue of Incredible showed the Illuminati had a role in the event, and I’m guessing he’s currently out in space because he’d be way too much of a wild card to have roaming around in Civil War. If anyone else has any questions, please write in at skio84@charter.net. I love getting responses and I’m more than happy to answer any question, or field any insult.

NEWS BRIEFS:

––Not a whole lot happening on the news front thanks to last week’s NYC Comic-Con, but I did miss a huge, exciting announcement from that convention. Starting in probably October, though maybe later, Brian Vaughan will be writing a monthly limited series about Doctor Strange, with art by Marcos Martin (Breach). Looks to be really, really good, and apparently BKV’s wanted to do something with Strange for a while.

I hereby solemnly pledge that I will review at least one trade next week. Seriously. I got caught up in the Ultimate Avengers DVD and wanted to write about that instead, but I should have one, maybe two trade reviews for the next column. If you have any questions, comments, or proclamations to make, send them to skio84@charter.net. Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week.