The Weekly Comics Grind

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

Hellblazer, Animal Man, Books of Magic, Sandman, and 100 Bullets say no.

[bloodyarts]

So did anyone pick up World War III? Any good?

WWIII is 4 separate books. Picked them up but haven't read them yet. However, 52 #50 is the start of World War III, and THAT ISSUE KICKED ASS!

Don't Vertigo books typically only go for 60 issues? I guess Fables is going longer, as I haven't heard any hubbub about it ending soon.

Well, it was supposed to end at 50, but the fans kept the book going and Bill Willingham said he could go for 50 more issues if we continue to support it. I don't think Jack of Fables has the staying power of Fables, though.

[James]

I'll take as many issues of Fables as Willingham wants to write.

This week I got two issues of Shadowpact, because I missed the previous issue again. Is the series weekly or something? Either way, I like the direction it's going even if it's taking too long to get there. Reading Shadowpact in chunks may be the way to go.

Army @ Love #2 was also good, and I'm looking forward to seeing just how seedy it gets before it's over.

Spirit #5 came out but I'm still doing one a week, so #3 for me this time. I passed on 52 but it's kind of fun having a weekly series, even if only for the short while it'll take to get caught up.

James

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

Haven't been to the LCS since Cap died, so there was a nice pile of stuff for me to pick up.
Fables 59,60. Loved the little vignettes in 59. Nice to see some stuff from artists I haven't seen in a while. Can't wait for the rest of Flycatchers storyline after the set up in 60.

Hellblazer 230,231. Considered dropping this during Mina's run. Storyline went on way too long without much of a satisfying denouement. There two issues put Constantine right back into where he should be. Diggle is off to a great start and I hope he continues to shine.

Wolfskin 3. Ellis Conan esque story has left me flat. Lots of cursing and gore, but not much more. Just another one of Ellis' three issue minis that didn't need to be done.

New Universal 5. This is one of the reasons I feel Ellis is one of the top writers around. Larocca's art is outstandingly beautiful as well.

Thunderbolts 113. Like where Ellis is going with this. The team intrigue is great and it'll be fun to see all these cats set each other up and where everything falls. Deodato has always been hit or miss with me. His art here has been okay, nothing to write home about.

Punisher War Journal 6. As much as Fraction gets hyped I feel that I should be enjoying this more than I am. Perhaps Ennis use of Punisher has spoiled me. I like this version, but don't think it's enough for me to keep getting it on a monthly basis.

Exiles 92. I feel this series has lost something since Bedard left and Claremont took over. I will say Claremont hasn't been anywhere near as wordy as he usually is, but this will probably get dropped as well.

Moon Knight 9. Suayan does a good Finch impression, but not good enough. Still the story is top notch, so I'll be sticking with it.

Jack of Fables 9. I like this series a lot, but think I'll switch to either trades, or only reading the monthlies all at one time.

Detective 830,831. I skipped Stuart Moores fill in issues. Dini is back in 831 with a nice Harley/Scarface issue. Fans of the Animated Series really need to check out Dini's run on this title. Superb.

Flash 10,11. Jury is still out on whether we really needed to get rid of Wally in favor of Bart, but Guggenheim has done a fantastic three issues so far, especially compared to what Bilson and Demeo were doing when the title launched. Also Guggenheim seems to be going in the Geoff Johns direction of making the admittedly weak Flash rogues gallery badass again. Tony Daniel is the new artist and doing good work as would be expected from him.

Justice League of America 7,8. At first I wasn't that impressed with Meltzers handling of the JLA but he is quickly turning me into a fan. I'm really looking forward to the continuation of the JLA/JSA crossover. Benes is a competent Jim Lee clone. I guess that's a good thing, especially as there was a fill in artist for 8 that was also a clone, so the artist switch wasn't that jarring.

Justice Society of America 4. As I've stated before I really like how this series is tying into Kingdom Come. There are some hokey elements (Wildcats son turns into a..wild...cat, but overall it's a great team book that is able to make older characters seem fresh.

DMZ 17,18. Probably tied with Exterminators for my second favorite Vertigo title behind Fables. Brian Wood's storylines echo real life events and make you think about the world's situation without getting all preachy on ya.

Still have to read Daredevil, New Xmen, X Factor, Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman, Exterminators, Shazam Monster Society, Midnighter, Stormwatch, Brave and the Bold, Doctor Fate, Shadowpact, Dark Tower, Hulk, and New Avengers.

[James]

I started doing some comics sorting the other day, and realized that, though I'd been kind of enjoying Hulk, I hadn't really given it a lot of attention. Having all 14 issues of Planet Hulk in place, I figured I'd give it a re-read. I blew through the first four issues last night and find it's working a lot better in large chunks. I'm actually looking forward to World War Hulk now.

So- one World War Hulk series as well as the regular Hulk book, or are there a million spin-offs planned that I get to ignore.

James

[Space Pirate Roberts]

Pretty much every book under the 616 banner is getting a WWH issue and there are several one-shots as well IIRC.

[PKBMax]

So- one World War Hulk series as well as the regular Hulk book, or are there a million spin-offs planned that I get to ignore.

James

MAY
WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE: WORLD BREAKER #1
INCREDIBLE HULK #106

JUNE
WORLD WAR HULK #1
INCREDIBLE HULK #107
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #19
GHOST RIDER #12
HEROES FOR HIRE #11
WORLD WAR HULK X-MEN #1
WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS #1
WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE #1

JULY
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #4
IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #10
WORLD WAR HULK #2
GHOST RIDER #13
WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE #2
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #20
HEROES FOR HIRE #12
WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS #2
WORLD WAR HULK #3
WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN #2
WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE #3
INCREDIBLE HULK #108

AUGUST
INCREDIBLE HULK #109
WORLD WAR HULK YOUNG AVENGERS #1
WORLD WAR HULK GAMMA CORPS #3
WORLD WAR HULK FRONTLINE #4
WORLD WAR HULK #4
WORLD WAR HULK X-MEN #3
HEROES FOR HIRE #13
WORLD WAR HULK FRONTLINE #5

SEPTEMBER
WORLD WAR HULK GAMMA CORPS #4
WORLD WAR HULK #5
HEROES FOR HIRE #14
INCREDIBLE HULK #110
WORLD WAR HULK FRONTLINE #6

[James]

Yeah... no. One Hulk regular series, one WWHulk limited, and that's good enough for me. Thanks for the list, though, it let me look up to see who was writing what.

James

[PKBMax]

Yeah... no. One Hulk regular series, one WWHulk limited, and that's good enough for me. Thanks for the list, though, it let me look up to see who was writing what.

James

I hear you. I learned my lesson from buying Civil War spin-off crap that I wish I didn't have now.

[PKBMax]

So I've been out of the loop for a bit. Is there a main storyline book for The Initiative?