Comic Reviews -- Week of July 21

DC:

Brightest Day #6: A mystery that just keeps adding more mysteries is as satisfying as a slap across a sunburned back. I want to keep reading Brightest Day to wait for the mysteries to be revealed, but if they keep stringing the readers along, this is just another long con. If you've stuck with Brightest Day, I hope you're feeling the frustration. If you've given up, I don't blame you. Johns and Co. need to start answering questions, and relax on building the mysteries for a while.

Marvel:

Amazing Spider-Man #638: So rumor has it that Spider-Man is going to go back to the way things were before Brand New Day. One cannot ignore the fact that One Moment In Time is OMIT in acronym form. So are they omitting the previous issues' worth of storytelling? Is Marvel bringing Pete and MJ back together? God, I hope not! The thing that's made Spider-Man work this past year is that he's not tied down to any romantic interest. The writer's have been able to focus on the story, and not have to worry about throwing in a line or two about Peter's love who sits on the sidelines and waits for her hub to get home. Amazing Spider-Man: O.M.I.T. is a decent read, but it hearkens back to the less than glorious days of Spidey's past. If this series resets everything, I'd give up buying Amazing Spider-Man for a while. I guess we'll have to wait and see how this plays out.

Ultimate Avengers 2 #5: So there's two Ghost Riders now. And the original Hulk brought his white babes along for the ride. And we've got another lackluster cliffhanger ending. So what else is new? Nothing. This series is like the Godfather Part III of comics. There's a great Simpsons episode where Homer and Mel Gibson remake Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and in the end, they ruin the movie. One of the executives says, "This is worse than Godfather 3" to which Mel replies, "Let's not say things we can't take back." That's how I feel about Ultimate Avengers 2. It's all the same characters as the original Avengers, but it has NONE of the same feel. It's like Mark Millar was running low on cash to fund his ego and his coke habit, and he decided to write Ultimate Avengers 2. Mark Millar gotta eat, yo! I remember my cousin talking about The Dark Knight Returns Part 2, and saying how Frank Miller needed money. I feel like the same thing is going on with Millar right now. He's short on a car payment or something, and this is how he's paying the bills. Truly, this is worse than Godfather Part III.

New Ultimates #3: Here we go! Finally, one of the new Ultimate comics delivers. This time, Loeb tells the story from Valkyrie's point of view, and my God is it incredible. There's an actual narrative thread, a human voice to give life to the series, and an ending that sends chills down your spine. Loeb delivers on an otherwise lackluster series, and I think anyone that's been reading New Ultimates from the beginning will find the heart that Loeb usually puts in his books has returned. Instead of letting the story drive the characters, he lets the characters drive the story. And New Ultimates is the fruit of his labors. And what a sweet fruit it is! If you're not interested in New Ultimates at all, I urge you to pick this up just to see an example of a good comic. It really raises the bar for the rest of the series.

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Neonomicon #1: This is pretty intimidating. I have to put all my Alan Moore love aside to review his latest creation, a story about the return of Cthulhu. So, as a comic not written by Alan Moore, Neonomicon is an interesting piece. It's got elements of mystery, character quirkiness, and an interesting story to keep readers interested. You may think there's a "but" here, yet there isn't. Even if this story weren't written by Alan Moore, I'd still be praising it. One of the reasons is that the characters have deep flaws that will play out in this series (I think) or they wouldn't be given so much attention. I don't know how many issues are in Neonomicon, but I'm hooked after one. There's a lot going on here, but Moore does a nice job of easing you into the world of Cthulhu creator, H.P. Lovecraft. I think as further issues come out, Moore will hold back less and less, and there will be blood. If you like good stories, pick this up. If you worship Alan Moore the way most comic book fans do, pick this up. If you don't, you should be fed to the Old Ones for your insubordination. (And if you don't know who the Old Ones are, you should read more Lovecraft.)