Welcome back to PCS’ weekly rundown of the best and worst new releases, courtesy of our friends Adan Jimenez (Adan’s Aztec Musings), AHR (Geekanerd), David Brothers (4thletter) and Katherine Dacey (Kate no Komento).

PICK: Countdown to Mystery #5

I think people get scared away from this series because of extremely cluttered cover artwork and it’s membership in the loathed Countdown Spinoff Club. But that unfortunate pedigree aside, this is an outstandingly smart series that deals with some of DC’s most well-known spiritual parasites (namely Eclipso and Dr. Fate), and the poor saps they inhabit. The Dr. Fate storyline has been the most impressive, as writer Steve Gerber has created vivid character in the new, depressed, barely functional Dr. Fate, and is writing some of the most believable and naturally written narration in any superhero book on the stands. This week however, the writing takes a back seat to a reasonably entertaining art gimmick; previously the good doctor met a young, attractive female comic artist (a stereotype in comics, for sure, but at least an enjoyable one), and in this issue we get a look at her book, which stars a creature named Killhead who looks like the unholy spawn of Marv from Sin City and Hellboy. The comic is more fun to look at than to read, but it’s still a neat way to shake things up. The Eclipso half of the book is more substantial, as physicist and long-time demon host Bruce Gordon comes up with a fresh taking on superheroing; if you have invincibility and the ability to fly and travel at superhuman speed, why not skip the villain bashing and go take notes on black hole phenomena from three feet away? Better living through science! Why didn’t the green lanterns ever think of that? Shock Value: A- -AHR

PICK: Damage Control #1

Damage Control #1 is a book where art and script work in perfect harmony. McDuffie’s story, despite it’s somber backdrop, is a light-hearted one and fun from jump. Salva Espin’s art and GuruEFX’s colors deliver a bunch of surprisingly subtle, expressive, and distinct characters. Everything from body language to posture helps tell the story, and Tami Hoag’s facial expressions are totally worth the price of admission. McDuffie’s script is light and fun, while still managing to pack a punch when it needs to. I missed out on the first Damage Control series, but the character introductions here are so skilled that I never felt like I was drowning in continuity references. Damage Control is a new and fun book that is very, very good. It’s nice to see a book that isn’t buckling under the weight of its own gravitas and import. Honestly–just read it. Shock Value: A+ -David

PAN(?) Guin Saga: The Seven Magi, Vol. 2

Though I enjoyed volume one of The Guin Saga, I found volume two downright confusing. I suspect that if I¹d read the novels on which the manga is based, many of my lingering questions — why did Queen Sylvia marry Guin if she found him so repulsive? what did Guin do bring such a terrible plague upon his kingdom? — might have been answered. But the manga doesn¹t bother to explain anything about Guin’’s past, leaving a dramatic hole at the center of the story. The sexual politics of The Seven Magi, too, are amusingly retrograde: Kaoru Kurimoto¹s main strategy for differentiating the female characters is to vary the strength of their libidos from frigid to muy caliente. Considering how many fantasy authors have used their otherworldly settings as an excuse to subvert gender norms by creating strong, interesting female characters, Kurimoto¹s cast of scantily-clad fembots are a disappointing, uninspired lot. With just one more volume in the series to go, however, I feel compelled to finish The Seven Magi, if only to see if
any of my questions are answered. Shock Value: C+ -Kate

PICK: Ultimate Fantastic Four #50

I’ve really been digging Mike Carey’s run on UFF, in part because I also really dig Mark Brooks and Pasqual Ferry. Tyler Kirkham’s got some huge boots to fill and he doesn’t quite pull off Brooks’s superheroics or Ferry’s high sci-fi. The characters look much too old and buff, and the facial expressions don’t really work, either. Carey’s got a really good script here, as he brings his Ultimate “Fourth World”-esque story to a climax, but Kirkham’s art isn’t working for me at all. The UFF are just barely grown-ups, but here they look like normal, muscular superheroes. Story-wise, it’s fine. We see just how far Reed has gone and how far he is willing to go, no matter the consequences. What he doesn’t know is that these consequences are coming in the form of two forces who want what he has– so there is a classic three-way stand-off in the making here. Good story, mediocre art. The story is just good enough to make it a Pick, rather than a Pan. Shock Value: B+ -David

PAN: X-men #207

(Spoiler warning)

Thirteen issues for this!? Why did they even bother?

The final part of Messiah Complex leaves the the mutantverse in some kind of stupidity zone that I’m sure they’ve been in before. Cyclops makes decision after decision that are supposed to make him look tough and leader-like, but the reasoning behind said decisions is unfathomable. Why would he give the baby to Cable after all that? He didn’t even make sure this was actually Cable! Some guy claims to be your future son, but you saw him die not six months ago, and you just hand over the baby!? Why would you disband the X-men (again)? It’s not like Professor Xavier won’t just come back to life in like two months anyway and reform the fucking team anyway.

Christ Almighty, this book makes no goddamn sense. We got thirteen issues of nonsense for three reasons: 1) so Xavier could die (for the… what? fourth time?), 2) so Bishop could be kicked off the X-men (again), and 3) so there could be another X-force book. So basically so we could get a bunch stuff we’ve already had before.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Shock Value: F -Adan