Astonishing X-Men #18

Adan: My review in one word: Disappointing. What the crap, seriously. This is the most obnoxious ending to a storyline since Maggie Simpson shot Mr. Burns. The only cool parts: Cyclops shooting the bad guys with what looks like a Glock, and that girl with the bubble armor whooping ass right alongside Percy Dovetonsils. The rest of it was paint-by-numbers Whedon with what, again, I can only call an obnoxious ending.
Laura: In the first three pages, Cyclops picks up a gun and shoots Cassandra Nova in the head. Stone cold, Scott Summers, and for about 10 seconds I’m in love with you, but of course Whedon is just kidding. Oh, how he likes to kid! Beast gets cured by a magic ball of string, Wolverine gets cured by beer, and it’s all very Joss Tweedon and I’m sick of it. Cutthroat Emma suddenly hates herself for being alive–and she totally should, because she’s a really bad person. Scott tries to call out the tiny violins, though, and blame it all on Cassandra Nova, which is kind of crap but whatever–we’re going into space! Next stop: Breakworld, and if we’re lucky, a better issue.
Astro City: The Dark Age Book 2 #1

Laura: It’s time for a trip down memory lane, to a bleaker, uglier time in Astro City’s past. Kurt Busiek’s world takes a turn for the gritty, spiraling down into crime, corruption, and darkness. It’s kind of a cross between New York in the 1970s and Gotham Central, with a dash of Powers for spice. If you haven’t read the Astro City books, please start now. It’s everything a superhero book should be, and it makes me ashamed of all the times I settled for mediocrity just because it happened to wear a cape. Expect more, and read this.
Adan: Holy crap! I’ve never read any Astro City before in my life, but I have to start immediately! What the hell was I thinking!? This is really good! Kurt Busiek can write like nobody’s business. The bit with the Street Angel character was really, really good. This book is a study on the grim and gritty era of comics and I can only assume it’s get gonna get even better!
Checkmate #8

Adan: This book is starting to lose its luster. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it, but now we’re in the “I know you too well, and some of that shit is starting to bother me” phase. Espionage with superpowers, chess motifs, unacted upon love, and some pretty broken people. Again, while I still love the hell out of this book, it’s main function is quickly becoming to remind me how inferquently Queen & Country ships.
Laura: It’s interdepartmental turf war time, as the Department of Metahuman Affairs (DMA) puts their hand on Checkmate’s side of the car seat and screws with one of their ops, sending everyone into crazy tantrum mode. Since the op involves Kobra, this book features the requisite attacking people with snakes, and I always wonder why villains think that’s such a great idea. What if they don’t bite the guy when he opens the suitcase? You’re going to look like an idiot, and all because you wanted to get flashy and thematic. You know what’s better than a snake? A bullet, asshole. Feel free to write this down.
Civil War #5

Adan: Hey, wow! This was actually pretty good! The Punisher comes back and joins a side (I’ll let you find out which one on your own), but that side kind of maybe doesn’t want him. Certain heroes start swtiching sides faster than you can say flip-flopper and the Thunderbolts get unleashed. The only two things that really bothered me about this issue: why doesn’t Stark just say, “Spider Armor shut down,” when he’s fighting Spidey, and why doesn’t the mask get immediately ripped off the recently captured hero at the end of the issue since that’s one of the major points of the Registration Act. Not enough to make me hate the main plot points like last issue’s letter by Sue. Man, that was awful.
Laura: Spiderman realizes just how hard he’s screwed himself for Tony Stark, and then the real screwing begins. The moment he stops playing ball, the government sics subsidized supervillains on his ass, which gets kicked faster than you can say “sucks to be you, Peter Parker.” Bet you’re regretting all those nanites in your bloodstream now, huh? Next time don’t trust the smarmy manipulative gajillionaire who wants you to sell out. Hey, at least you can finally lose the red and gold costume; consider it symbolic of your decision not to be a dumbass anymore.
Daredevil: Father #6

Laura: Man, what is this crap. There’s a lot of psychobabble about fathers and sons and fathers and blame and fathers, most of which only vaguely makes sense. It turns out serial killer Johnny Sockets is The Last Person You’d Suspect: the abused wife! Oh, the surprise. She thinks her killing spree is all Matt Murdock’s fault, and Matt Murdock thinks it’s all her dad’s fault. Guys, let’s review: only one person was murdering people and cutting out their eyes, and her name was… well, Johnny Sockets, which is a dumb name for a killer, but an awesome name for a robot.
Adan: If you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the last year, don’t worry, ’cause you didn’t miss anything. This book is later than a two-dollar whore who forgot her contraception. And frankly, if you’ve been under a rock for your entire life in relation to this book, good for you. When you’re grabbing books off the rack, walk right past this thing because it’s no good. Get back to E-I-C-ing, Joe.
Fell #6

Laura: How many times do they gotta reprint this book before you read it? It’s only $1.99, so skip your fancy coffee this morning and BUY IT. Richard Fell and Mayko finally go on a sort-of date, which might have been romantic had it not involved feces, pedophilia, and Munchausen syndrome. All of which is based on a true story, reminding us that the real world can be just as ugly as Snowtown, although fortunately, real life is not rendered in the skin-crawling art of Ben Templesmith. Unless maybe you are Rob Zombie and are tripping balls.
Adan: Let’s review: 1) You love Warren Ellis (I know you do because you’re buying Black Gas even after I warned you); 2) You love Ben Templesmith (c’mon, you all bought that crappy ‘30 Days of Night’ nonsense because of him); 3) You love cheap comics more than you love cheap booze (although some of you are riding the fence). Skip every other book on this list if you have to (except Astro City; pick that up too) and buy this book.
Ms. Marvel #9

Laura: It’s Ms. Marvel vs. Ms. Marvel vs. Rogue, as Carol Danvers confronts a slightly lazier version of herself whose alternate world ended because she was too busy getting wasted to save it. Carol throws an enormous supertantrum where she punches herself repeatedly in the face, screaming that she sickens… herself. Ah, the self-loathing is strong with this one. Maybe she and Emma can start a club for imperious blonde superheroines who don’t love themselves enough.
Adan: This is the best therapy session I have ever been a witness to, and it’s hilarious to boot. One Carol Danvers drowns her problems in alcohol and ignores Avengers Priority Distress Calls (at one point she says, “The world needs saving again. Someone better get on that,” and continues drinking). The other Carol Danvers deals with her problems by punching them in the face repeatedly, even when those problems are herself. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: messed up superheroes are hilarious.
New Avengers #25

Laura: The hatred that Tony Stark inspires in those around him is truly remarkable, and in this issue it finally comes back to bite him in his metal ass. The former employee (and friend) who designed his armor technology is so incensed by its use against the anti-registration heroes that he basically decides to blow everyone up. Hey, if comic books have taught me anything, it’s we’re all just one traumatic event away from becoming dangerous villains fixated on revenge. And for the record, Bendis, semantic is not a verb. It’s the kind of thing you might know if you were, say, a genius like the guy who says it. Does anyone even pretend to copy-edit these books?
Adan: HA! I assume they’d have to pretend, otherwise they’d lose their pretend jobs. The other thing Marvel pretends to do is have a cohesive universe with a cohesive continuity. Go read Iron Man #13, also out this week, and compare exactly how Stark is offered the job of a lifetime. Do those two scenes even begin to coexist in a reasonable universe? As Alan Kistler (historian extraordinaire for Monitor Duty) and I were discussing recently, Marvel (and really every comic book company) should just let us edit their books. We’d do it for a lot cheaper and catch a lot more mistakes. We already read most of the comics they put out and catch this stuff on our lunch breaks.
Omega Men #2

Adan: Hurm… Kind of like Mystery in Space (I can hear Jason now), only without the back up story to help them along and slightly more superhero-y. There’s some weird space cult thingy that’s taken over the Spider Guild as well as the vast majority of Manila, capital city of the Philippines. The Omega Men are trying to stop it, but Vril Dox, head of L.E.G.I.O.N. and the Guardians have other plans. What those are, only those blue little Smurfs seem to know. If it isn’t immediately apparent to you guys, I’m liking a lot of this space adventure stuff DC’s been putting out lately (even, God help me, Ion), and more of it is usually better. Although I’m not entirely sure about this art yet.
Laura: Uh oh, it’s a Superhero Misunderstanding™! And much like one’s first night at Fight Club, that means you HAVE to fight. Preferably without talking or giving anyone a chance to explain themselves before the head-cracking begins. Superheroes, you are a doomed species. Also, I don’t really care. Next.
Supergirl #11

Adan: What a horrible piece of garbage. What the fuck, Joe Kelly? I used to love you, man! Supergirl wants to join the Outsiders because she has a crush on Nightwing, and to prove what a badass she really is. Also, Boomerang’s lust for a sixteen-year-old is really quite skeevy. Even more skeevy: Kara’s the one who calls him on it and then crawls over and rubs up against him. Eww. Also, Joe Benitez needs to work on his… I was gonna say faces, but then I realized all his art was kind of off. So Benitez needs to work on his art. P.S. Joe Kelly, I still love you. Just stop writing Supergirl. It’s making you look bad and I know you’re better than this. Remember Deadpool? Those were good times, man.
Laura: Kara tries to team up with the Outsiders because she wants to belong, or maybe just bang Nightwing, but who can blame her! That man is ridiculous hot. Grace thinks she’s too retarded to join up (she is), but then Kara uses foul language—OMG!—and after everyone picks their jaws up off the floor, they concede that she is truly a badass. Because this is The Babysitter’s Club, and we are all twelve. Since swearing means that she has clearly proven her mettle, she and Grace are sent undercover as superpirates, where Kara learns that there’s more to being a tough guy than just dropping F-bombs. Then she *cries* and is useless, because she is a bad superhero, and this is a bad book. Do yourself (and your estimation of Joe Kelly) a favor, and put it down.