QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE THURSDAY (not Wednesday) 05-28-09

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE THURSDAY (not Wednesday) 05-28-09
By John Judy

(Note: Shipping delayed by Memorial Day.)

ALIENS #1 of 4 by John Arcudi and Zach Howard. They’re back, doing what they do. Where’s a Predator when you need one?

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #595 by Joe Kelly and Phil Jimenez. Spidey begins his crusade to take down Norman Osborn for good. Go get him, Tiger!

ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #16 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Wolfie and Zechariah throw down once more, Nosferatu vs. Lycanthrope, no holds barred! OK!

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #24 by Christos Gage and Humberto Ramos. The kids are stuck in Wolverine’s old stomping ground fighting his old foes. Fortunately they’re among Wolvie’s lamest old foes and that’s saying something.

BATMAN IN BARCELONA: DRAGONS KNIGHT #1 by Mark Waid and Diego Olmos. Mr. Wayne puts on the cowl to solve a series of killings in B-town. Drawn by Barcelona native Olmos, but for some reason featuring a cover by Jim Lee. Go figure.

DARK REIGN: THE HOOD #1 of 5 by Jeff Parker and Kyle Hotz. It’s not easy being the demon-possessed crime-lord of New York City but the Hood makes it all work. Between his knocked up girlfriend, junkie cousin and momma in the nuthouse this one reads like a sitcom spec from Hell. Gotta look!

ETERNAL SMILE GN by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim. Three stand-alone stories ranging from classic fantasy to contemporary urban fiction from a pair of award-winning, eclectic creators. Well worth a look.

FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: INK #1 of 6 by Eric Wallace and Fabrizio Fiorentino. Recovering bad guy Tattooed Man has a problem. His tattoos are taking him over. A cautionary tale to the illustrated whippersnappers of today. Now get offa my lawn and stop stealing from me!

GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS: TANKIES #2 of 3 by Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra. Tank runs over Germans. Germans shoot at tank with all kinds of bad stuff. Ennis writes it so it is truly a Must-Have. Seriously, most of Ennis’ war comics should be movies. Recommended.

GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS, VOL. 2: DEAR BILLY SC by Ennis and Peter Snejbjerg. Half-romance, half-war comic, all human tragedy this three-issue collection is a true heart-breaker as only the best war stories are. Tough to read in places but well worth it. Not for kids. Recommended.

GHOST RIDER #35 by Jason Aaron and Tony Moore. Beat-up and knocked down ex-Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze just wants to die in a Japanese monastery, but then a load of evil bikers shows up….. It’s written by Jason Aaron so you gotta look! Recommended.

GREEN LANTERN #41 by Geoff Johns and Philip Tan. Agent Orange, the villain powered by avarice, wants what he wants when he wants it! Agent Orange will make America great again if we just cut his taxes! Recommended.

IGNITION CITY #3 of 5 by Warren Ellis and Gianluca Pagliarani. Mary Raven gets closer to her father’s murderers even as they get closer to her. The zap guns will be a-zappin’ fer sure!

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #26 by Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman. Danny and the gang have to kung-fu their way out of Hell. I hope their kung-fu is tough…

INCOGNEGRO SC by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece. The paperback of Johnson and Pleece’s powerful graphic novel about a light-skinned African-American reporter passing as white in the deep South at the height of the segregation era. Highly, highly recommended.

JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY: MELVIN MONSTER HC VOL. 1 written and drawn by John Stanley. Drawn and Quarterly is collecting the works of this under-appreciated silver-age creator who was best known for his work on LITTLE LULU. This first volume collects all ten issues of his stories about a misunderstood monster who just wants to be good. Great for the young at heart.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #33 by Dwayne McDuffie and Rags Morales. It’s Dharma vs. Starbreaker! With a little Justice League thrown in for good measure.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #27 written and drawn by Jerry Ordway. The young JSAers have to rescue the old JSAers so they can steal from them and play on their lawns! And not listen neither! Recommended dagnabbit!

LAST DAYS OF ANIMAL MAN #1 of 6 by Gerry Conway and Chris Batista. It’s the year 2024 and being the man with animal powers is not what it used to be. Especially if you’ve been aging in dog years…

MY INNER BIMBO SC by Sam Keith and Josh Hagler. The adventure of a guy whose trampy feminine side suddenly manifests (no pun intended) in the real world. Gotta look!

NEW AVENGERS #53 by Brian Michael Bendis and Billy Tan. Who will be the next Sorcerer Supreme? The likeable boy next door? The openly gay glam rocker? Or the frumpy middle-aged lady who’s never been kissed? And why is Simon so mean all the time?

NORTHLANDERS #17 by Brian Wood and Vasilis Lolos. Two Vikings fight to the death in slow motion. Lots of time to contemplate that axe headed for your skull. Excellent stuff! Recommended!

PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics. Your back-to-school comics featured here!

SPECIAL FORCES VOL. 1 SC written and drawn by Kyle Baker. Collecting issues 1-4 of the comic inspired by the corrupt recruiting practices of the US Military that put kids with autism in the front lines of the Iraq War. Seriously. This happened. Highly recommended.

SPIDER-MAN: SHORT HALLOWEEN #1 by Bill Hader, Seth Meyers and Kevin Maguire. A one-shot comic romp by two SNL stars and Kevin-freakin-Maguire! Highly recommended.

THE STAND: AMERICAN NIGHTMARES #3 of 5 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins. Larry goes into the tunnel. Good times. Highly recommended.

SUPERMAN #688 by James Robinson and Renato Guedes. Mon-El’s having a hard time with the Superman stand-in gig, but then he loses his powers and, well, do the math…

ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS HULK #6 of 6 by Damon Lindelof and Leinil Francis Yu. The battle royale concludes as we learn how many pieces Ultimate Wolverine can be chopped into and still appear nonchalant.

WOLVERINE #72 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. “Old Man Logan” is back for the penultimate chapter of this dystopian future road movie.

WONDER WOMAN #32 by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti. Diana dukes it out with her hideous future-self once more. It’s enough to give one a headache before the first punch is thrown.

X-MEN LEGACY #224 by Mike Carey and Scot Eaton. Marvel sez: “Rogue and Gambit fans DO NOT MISS THIS ISSUE!” Yeah, I’m looking at both of you!

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