Marvel has produced several of these Mythos one-shots so far and each one has been a nice little treat that gives us the origins of some of our favorite Marvel heroes. They have done X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk and Ghost Rider and now we get the Fantastic Four. You know the origin story but it’s told in a slightly different way here with some beautiful painted art throughout by Paolo Rivera. The art alone makes this a buy! Grade: B+

DC Comics: Justice Society of America #10

One of the best DC stories of all time is Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. So when you get one of the better DC titles out there crossing over with that storyline even a little bit, it’s worth checking out. In this issue the Kingdom Come Superman has shown up in the current universe with no idea why he’s here but it has the Justice Society and the Justice League on edge. There is a great shot in this issue of Batman watching footage of this Supes as he holds the kryptonite ring given to him by the regular Supes as a way to take him down if he was ever to go out of control. Hmm, what’s coming and what’s going on? I can’t wait to find out! Geoff Johns and Alex Ross are writing this story arc so it’s in great hands and Dale Eaglesham is handling the art chores. But Alex Ross fans need not fret–not only is he doing some of the writing but also the covers (as he has been since the first issue) and some of the interior as well. Good stuff! Grade: A

Dark Horse Comics: Hellboy–Weird Tales Volume 1

Since it’s Halloween I must mention this great collection from Dark Horse of the Hellboy anthology series, Weird Tales, that lets other creators play around in the Hellboy universe. Inside there are tales about a mutated dog, an oriental witch woman, a giant bat, an evil circus, a posessed girl and much more. This is a fun and creepy read! Grade: A

Until next time–Peace….

Reviews–

DC: Justice Society of America #6

The crossover storyline with the Justice League of America, The Lightning Saga, continues and I’m ready for it to be over. It’s not that it’s that bad but it’s not very good either. There are some great characters here but the storyline just seems a bit contrived. But isn’t that a sweet cover of Damage by Alex Ross though?….Grade: C-

Marvel: Silent War #5

This mini-series has been awesome and with one more issue to go I can’t wait to see the outcome. Writer David Hine puts forth a great issue 5 with the Inhumans attacking the Pentagon and the Mighty Avengers trying to defend it. Frazier Irving’s art is something to marvel at in it’s beauty and uniqueness as he renders some fantastic battle scenes. You should have been picking this up from the start if you haven’t. A great read that has some of the most interesting characters of the Marvel Universe….Grade A

Marvel: Silver Surfer: Requiem #1

This mini-series deals with the impending death of the Silver Surfer. Yes, the mighty herald of Galactus is at an end and the Surfer is out to set his affairs in order in a manner of speaking. Personally I’ve never really cared all that much about the Surfer but writer J. Michael Straczynski in this first issue makes you care about the character. Esad Ribic’s painted art is amazing and makes this book a real gem….Grade: A-

Previews–

Vertigo: Exterminators #18

The second part of Showdown at Scatshot has Stretch setting out to discover who framed him for the casino robbery. Stretch, who is one of the standout characters of this series, finally gets to be front and center and the first issue of this storyline was great. Hopefully the second is as well.

Marvel: Uncanny X-men 487

The X-men are a house divided as half of their crew are stranded in deep space and the others are on Earth. The latter have to deal with an attack in the Morlock tunnels but have help with a guest appearance by Storm of the Fantastic Four (if you didn’t know she was with the FF you know now). Ed Brubaker continues with the writing but the great Salvador Larroca is the new artist dealing out the pretty pretty art.

Until next time….Peace—

DC Comics:

52 Week Fifty-One

Things are really coming to a head now on one of DC’s best books as we approach the big finale.

In the aftermath of World War III we have all the heroes gathering together to pay their respects to the fallen, the reunion of Animal Man and his wife, Lobo appearing to go back to his old violent ways and a shocking surprise relating to Skeets that I didn’t see coming. Can’t wait for next week!

Justice Society of America #5

This series continues to surprise me in good ways. Issue 5 deals with the appearance of 5 individuals from the future and the JSA and the JLA teaming up to figure out what’s going on–in this case the team-up is Batman, Sand, GeoForce and Starman. They are on the scene of a disturbance at Arkham Asylum and this story makes Starman one of my favorite characters even though he is a total loon. This is part two of the ongoing “Lightning Saga” storyline and so far it’s pretty good.

Amazons Attack #1

There wasn’t much going on this issue except some battle sequences but it’s worth picking up for the art alone. Pete Woods is one of the best artists in comics today and he is kicking ass here. The story is that the evil Circe has brought Hippolyta (Amazonian Queen and mother to Wonder Woman) back from the dead and Hippolyta has declared war on the world of man due to they have imprisoned her daughter (check out the ongoing Wonder Woman for all that). This isn’t the best 1st issue of a mini but I’m sure the story will get better….but you gotta love the art!

Connor Hawke: Dragon’s Blood #6

This is the last issue that deals with an adventure involving Green Arrow’s son, Connor. The mini-series has been fun but it helps if you are a Green Arrow geek like me. This issue ties things up nicely.

Justice #11

The series that’s been going for nearly 2 years now is near the end. Story wise this is hit and miss with me but the art (by Doug Braithwaite and painted by Alex Ross) is drool worthy. If you haven’t been picking this up that’s ok–it’s being collected (the first 2 volumes are out already). This issue gives us a cool battle between the DC heroes and villains and cool bios at the end of Green Lantern and Sinestro.

Marvel Comics:

Wolverine #53

Okay, wtf!? I’m a Wolverine fan and love a good fight with Sabretooth but this storyline has been very flat. The art has been fantastic but the writing is kind of hokey. I love the writing of Jeph Loeb but I think he might not have thought this project out to well. Thankfully the art by Bianchi is awesome.

I really want to like Iron Man again but….

World War Hulk is starting in May! Pick it up–The Hulk has been great the past year and this storyline sounds amazing…

DC comics is wrapping up the weekly series 52 but May 9th is starting the weekly called Countdown. If it’s as good as 52 then it will be a must have for any DC fan…