The Back Stack: May 31, 2012

Sorry I forgot to do a Back Stack last week.  Kind of hard getting back into the swing of things following my hiatus.  It doesn’t help that I have a HUGE My Little Pony project I’m working on.  There was a Sonic hardcover I picked up, but I haven’t actually cracked it open yet, so I’ll save that for next week.

But onto this week!  This week was… underwhelming, by and large.  Certainly, there was some good stuff to be had, but everything else was just fair to moderate.  Let’s get started.

As always, SPOILER ALERT!

Amazing Spider-Man #686 continues the Ends of the Earth storyline.  This one was more focused on action and saw that the Sinister Six wasn’t as cohesive as once thought.  The Chameleon and Mysterio work on their own means to confront Spider-Man immediately, but Doc Ock put the kabash to that.  We see Mysterio reluctantly join Spider-Man to face Octavious… and his new Sinister Six, The Avengers.  The end revelation was admittedly pretty weak and a bit of a stretch, but something that works with this episode is that, in the face of Armageddon, we see how some of the supporting characters spend their moments.  While I’m disappointed with how J. Jonah Jameson responded to his father, I’m glad to see Mary Jane have so much faith in Spider-Man, seemingly, that she buys an expensive building to throw a party at.  This isn’t the strongest issue, but it’s far from weak.

Verdict – Recommended

Aquaman #9 continues to be just awesome.  We see some insight into Aquaman’s past and a pretty nifty revelation at the end about Aquaman and his “father.”  Honestly, I’m running out of stuff to say about Aquaman at this point.  It’s well-written with great characters and good action.  This issue is more of the same greatness that you should be reading right now anyway.

Verdict – Highly Recommended

Captain America #12.  This wasn’t bad.  We learn more about the new Crossbones and how it’s affecting Cap.  We also see he might still hold a flame for Diamondback, but clearly she’s still no match for Sharon Carter right now.  I can’t say I was impressed with some of the revelations, but it’s kind of humorous to see just how routine duking it out with Hydra is to Cap and Dum Dum Dugan, one of the more unfortunately named supporting characters in Marvel if I do say so myself.  I mean, really, just how bad would it be to go through school with the name “Dum Dum”?  But I’m sure I’m missing something with that in the backstory.

Verdict – Recommended

Deadpool #55 was a big letdown, but I understand why it was written.  It was written to establish the new status quo of what an essentially powerless Deadpool will be like, but it wasn’t exactly a compelling read.  It wasn’t funny and the action was just dull.  I haven’t been impressed with Deadpool for some time.  The last arc had its moments, but it’s been far too inconsistent to be a series I could recommend at the time.

Verdict – Pass

Fantastic Four #606.  Wow.  Hickman is still knocking it out of the park even after the Council of Reeds series.  This issue started out with me scratching my head and then realizing just why exactly the Fantastic Four were on this mission, to save the life of one of their longest family friends, Willie Lumpkin.  Seeing the Fantastic Four, especially Mister Fantastic, go to this extent on such a small scale for someone who they care for really lets this superhero team live up to their pedigree.  This is a great feel-good issue.

Verdict – Highly Recommended

Green Lantern:  New Guardians #9.  This issue focuses on the Blue Lanterns and I was thrilled with that at first, because I feel of the expanded Lantern Corps.’, they have the best source of raw material to work with… then they brought in the cast of Blue Beetle.  Ugh… and I had such high hopes for this issue.  I’m not even entirely sure of how this ties in with the current storyline, but what saves this issue is how the Blue Lanterns relate to one another.  How they hold each other to such a high degree and how their own Hope is truly the source of their power.  Sadly, the issue isn’t completely compelling and I can’t give it a complete recommendation.

Verdict – Cautiously Recommended

Hulk #52 concludes the Haunted Hulk series.  It was far better than the last issue (which I didn’t review) and we finally see who is haunting the Red Hulk.  Doc Samson.  It wasn’t exactly thrilling, but I did like seeing the monsters who helped the Punisher while he was Franken-Castle make a comeback, unlike the Forgiven from the last issue who were sadly sans Jubilee (an angle that still ticks me off).  It’s good for seeing more of General Ross’s personality as both a human and a Hulk and it ends on a high note in the most bizarre of ways.  Good stuff.

Verdict – Recommended

Hulk Smash Avengers #4.  This issue focused on one of quirkier versions of the Hulk, Mr. Fixit.  It wasn’t exactly one of the more compelling issues of the series and at this point it’s become way more formulamatic than anything.  A Hulk incarnation fights with the Avengers, one of the Avengers has a heart-to-heart with the Hulk, resolution.  Seriously, the first few issues had so much more depth to them and this one just… didn’t.

Verdict – Pass

Journey Into Mystery #638 is, to me, textbook 101 of how NOT to do a crossover event.  You don’t overlap the story between unrelated titles.  Once upon a time, I forgave a Titans/Teen Titans crossover since they were related, but in general, I hate crossover storylines like this that span two or more titles, especially when they’re books I don’t pick up, such as the case with New Mutants.  The storyline, nor the characters coming from New Mutants, were particularly compelling this time around and it certainly didn’t invite me to want to see how this plays out.  I’ll wait for this series to get back to its own stories.

Verdict – Pass

The Mighty Thor #14 was just okay.  I’d have liked to have seen more of the dynamics between the Enchantress and Donald Blake, considering it’s going to play big dividends later, that and I’m just genuinely entertained by The Enchantress sometimes and it’s been a while since we’ve seen her.  However, what we got with Thor wasn’t exactly interesting until we got to the very end, which isn’t a sign of a good comic.  But, it’s still far better than its counterpart, Journey Into Mystery.

Verdict – Cautiously Recommended

Superman #9 was kind of boring for the first bit, but picked up towards the end.  I’m not sure how I feel about Superman right now.  When it’s good, it’s very good, but when it’s not up to par, it’s sometimes a bit of a chore to read.  It’s a book I’d drop if it were less consistent than it is, but right now, it’s doing just enough to keep me around and wonder what’s happening next.  It won’t be the first series I recommend, but I wouldn’t say it’s one I’d entirely pass either.

Verdict – Cautiously Recommended

And that ends it.  Next week, The Back Stack returns to Tuesday at its regular time.  Welcome back.

Cheers;

Graves