It’s that time again! Another round of Comic Booked’s exclusive Bullet Reviews!
AVENGERS #11 (Marvel)
The quest to keep the Infinity Gems away from The Hood continues… The stakes get higher as The Watcher shows up and when that happens you KNOW it’s serious! Beyond that, I have to say this issue is something of a cheat. The whole thing is told with full-page panels and the story is narrated by the Watcher. While I’m enjoying the overall back and forth of The Hood gaining and losing Gems as well as the very nice art of JRJr, I have to admit, I really don’t think I’m getting my $3.99 worth here. Overall there isn’t too much to rave about here, beyond the full-page panels we also get yet another chapter of the Oral History of The Avengers (chapter 15) this simply feels more like the lead-in to a big finale. Especially when you have an appearance by a certain Mad Titan who should be gone. –Skott Of Fables
GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS #8 (DC)
War Of The Green Lanterns, Part 3: Guy and Kilowog are attacked by infected Lanterns and while Guy gets away, his friend isn’t so lucky. This is the part of the overall story where we get to take a breath, especially after the first two action packed parts, and get brought up to speed on what the heck is going on. Hal and Guy have a sit down that quickly breaks down into a fight between the two. They haven’t always gotten along but with more than their rivalry at stake they have to put aside everything but the task at hand: Save the Corps. This is a very entertaining story, it’s an event but doesn’t feel like one. It’s just fun. I will certainly be getting the trades for this as they are released! -Skott Of Fables
HELLRAISER #1 (BOOM!)
What can anyone say about this? The first issue is more of a continuation than a premiere. There are cues taken from the movies of course but I was surprised to see subtle references to the Marvel/Epic anthology series. The main story here focuses on Pinhead. Apparently he’s gotten tired of centuries of torture and slaughter, he’s grown weary of waiting for the puzzle box to be opened, calling him forth. He wants something more. The big surprise here is he wants to be human again so he can have a chance for redemption and enter Heaven! Two things, though: 1) If he fails, he returns to Hell, is stripped of his rank and power and gets tortured til the end of time and 2) before he can become human he must name his replacement. The name is one known to fans of Hellraiser: Kirsty Cotton! I’m probably not going to be getting this on a monthly basis but this is certainly a book to have in the trade format! -Skott Of Fables
KICK-ASS 2 #2 (Icon)
There’s no way around it, this is a hell of a comic. As aggravating as the interminable six month delay has been, the book remains as fun, accessible and (more importantly) violent as ever. Mark Millar’s script is exactly what you should expect if you’ve either read prior issues or seen the movie, and John Romita Jr.’s pencils once again demonstrate why he ranks among the best in the business. The fact that this is only the second issue of the story means that it runs a bit heavier than most on exposition, particularly focusing on introducing and establishing the various characters that make up the new “super”-team. Once this is taken care of, however, Millar gives us a nice dose of the old ultra-violence to close the issue, including a scene that I cannot wait to see executed in the inevitable film adaptation (if you’ve read the issue, you can probably guess which one I’m talking about). As frustrated as I still am about the delay, the fact remains that this book hit all the right notes to leave me salivating for more, so in the end I really can’t complain as much as I otherwise would. Buy this comic! –Nick C
PUNISHER: IN THE BLOOD #5 (Marvel)
As Remender’s memorable run on The Punisher comes to an end, we see a well-rounded conclusion to this particular limited series, but also some closure on his entire collection. The title, “In the Blood,” clearly relates to Frank’s progressive involvement with those he teams up with. In this case Remender is showing that Frank truly cares about Henry much like he would his own son. A point of interest however, the complexity and broken nature of the relationship seems to be a metaphor for Frank’s life after the death of his family. Jigsaw points this out near the end of the story by asking Frank if he would ever bring his own son into something like this. The question is moot because if Frank’s son were alive, Frank wouldn’t be the Punisher. The story also plays through as a tale of revenge. Apparently, Jigsaw only used Frank’s “wife” in this series because he felt Castle had corrupted his son somehow. So he used Frank’s bloodline (or what was left of it) to show Castle how it felt to corrupt family. Again, very complex themes that would only come up in a comic, but still entertaining. I would venture to say that the limited series was the best arc of the entire run. -Andy Kirby
THOR #621 (Marvel)
The final issue of the Fraction/Ferry series and I can’t say I’m going to miss it. This final story has been uninspired to say the least. I’m not even really sure what to say about it other than it’s over and apparently Thor won. What this means is unknown because much of the story made little sense. After this issue the title will change to Journey Into Mystery with a new creative team and will be heavily involved in the Fear Itself event. Fraction isn’t leaving Thor, though. Next month sees the premier of The Mighty Thor in which the Thunder God will face off against Galactus! I will stick with Journey and will most likely grab Mighty Thor in the trade format. I’m no fan of Fraction’s writing on this series but perhaps if he’s using more familiar concepts it will be better also… the art of Olivier Coipel is certainly a plus. Rumors of the series being created simply to promote the upcoming movie, in my personal opinion, are more of a hindrance than a charm but I’ll at least flip through issue #1 when it comes out this month. -Skott Of Fables
Glad to hear that 'Kick-Ass 2' is still worth the wait…