QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-09-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-09-08
By John Judy

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #556 by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo. Creepy Mayan blood cults, snowstorms, and Spidey finds a new use for the Daily Bugle. Nuthin’ dirty but your mind, Mister Man.

BATMAN: DEATH MASK #1 of 4 written and illustrated by Yoshinori Natsume. A Prestige Format manga mini from the creator of “Toguri.” Ask your kid.

BOOSTER GOLD #8 by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, and Dan Jurgens. Still a really good title but the recurring presence of those stupid OMAC things is cause for concern. OMACs are the evil future clones of the DCU.

CRIMINAL 2 #2 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Another done-in-one story featuring Teeg Lawless, patriarch of the low-rent Lawless crime family. This issue has an expanded number of main story and back-up pages and is pure Blue Magic heroin for lovers of the crime noir genre. Too rough for kids. Highly recommended for clever teens and up.

DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #6 by Warren Ellis and Ivan Rodriguez. Injury to the eye motif! Comics Code Authority turning in its grave! Avatar website still horrible. Somebody call me a Doktor!

FANTASTIC FOUR #556 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. Big fights with Robo-Cap in the snow. It's a ride.

GOON #23 written and illustrated by Eric Powell. Overheard outside Madame Elsa’s Burlesque: “Back off, youse mugs! I swiped this here salmon and I’m gettin’ the squeezin’s!” Recommended!

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #14 by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross, and Dale Eaglesham. Why, God, why? Why are the clouds laughing at our heroes? And why do the clouds have fangs and crows feet? It’s an Alex Ross cover and thus filled with hidden meaning. Really. Look for the word “Nina.”

MARVEL ZOMBIES: DEAD DAYS HC by Lotsa People. Featuring all those Marvel Zombie stories that didn’t appear in the two mini-series. Twisted kicks. NOT for kids.

NUMBER OF THE BEAST #1 of 8 by Scott Beatty and Chris Sprouse. It’s the Apocalypse done up Wildstorm style! Featuring the return of a hero we all thought Warren Ellis had killed off! (Okay, that doesn’t narrow it down much, I know…)

PUNISHER #56 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. The final Garth Ennis story-arc in which eight Special Forces soldiers are ordered to take out the Punisher, knowing that he won’t fire back on U.S. military and The Law. Not for kids, no-how, but highly recommended for all others.

SERENITY: BETTER DAYS #2 of 3 by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, and Will Conrad. The crew goes on vacation in the good ol’ days before fan favorites died horribly on the big screen.

TITANS #1 by Judd Winick and Ian Churchill. Looks like a return of the original Marv Wolfman/George Perez line-up so that’s a nice nod to us geezers. Gotta look.

WHATEVER GN written and drawn by Karl Stevens. A collection of short stories about life in the college town of Allston, Massachusetts. No capes, no tights, no kidding. Neat stuff.

WOLVERINE #64 by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney. Crazy, bloody chase caper continues! Great fun from Aaron and Garney. Ron Garney's tears cure athlete's foot.* Recommended!

WONDER WOMAN #19 by Gail Simone and Bernard Chang. WW’s having trouble with a nasty bunch of Khunds. They’re an alien race, so help me.

YOUNG LIARS #2 written and drawn by David Lapham. If you’re missing your fix of Lapham’s “Stray Bullets” you should certainly be reading this. Nihilistic fun, but not for younger kids.

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*disclaimer from the blog owner. Probably not, but Mr. Garney did write in and ask that he be acknowledged as one of the creators of the comic in response to one of Mr. Judy's recent posts.