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Welcome back to The Back Stack. I apologize for missing last week, but life
happens sometimes. If I’m quick writing
this, I apologize, but I was running late on this week’s edition as it
was. In addition, many of my micro-reviews
are going to be far more clean and to the point than usual because it was a
HEAVY week last week and there is a lot to cover. Sadly, it wasn’t a particularly memorable
week and I feel the words “missed opportunity” fits perfectly for many books.
In addition, I’m sorry to say, but I missed last week’s new
Incredible Hulk and TMNT Color Classics, but I hope to pick them up this week and throw them in for my review for the
next Back Stack, even if it somewhat defeats the purpose. Also, in the previous week’s would have been
Back Stack, the only book that stood out to me on a big degree was Avengers
Academy. It was fun and kept dynamics in
other books going while not robbing the Academy students of their time. It was well balanced and I’d recommend it
most out of the books I would have covered last week.
But for now, let’s begin, and as always, SPOILER
ALERT!
Amazing Spider-Man
#687 ends a story arc on an epic scale and was a worthy follow-up to
Spider-Island in my opinion. The only
downside is that this arc didn’t end on the same high note, there are some emo
bits, and how Spider-Man actually wins can only be described as “par for the
course.” Don’t get me wrong, it wraps
things up nicely and leaves an opening as to the fate of Rhino and Silver
Sable, but compared to Spider-Island, this one didn’t have the same fulfilling
end. And… I’m guessing this IS the end
story of Ends of the Earth, because next issue will be rolling right into a new
story arc involving The Lizard and Morbius (at least I think). Still, there was some fun to be had here and if
you like Spidey, this one is pretty decent.
Verdict – Recommended
Avengers #27 was…
bad. I’ve been a fan of the Protector
and I liked the idea of his conflicting feelings between Earth, the Avengers,
and the Supreme Intelligence, but I can’t help but feel it was a little
rushed. I’m not sure if they’re really
going to get rid of the Protector for a while or what, but I definitely didn’t
like the way the Avengers handled it and especially didn’t like the portrayal
of Beast, who is typically the calm, rational, level-headed one. I guess “singed fur” can drive even super
geniuses nuts. There are better stories
to be had and you’re better off just skipping this chapter.
Verdict – Pass
Avengers Assemble #4
was… meh. Thanos arrives, but he doesn’t
do a terrible amount. He controls Hulk
for a while, the Zodiac arrives, and a reveal of the Guardians of the Galaxy at
the end to set up the next issue. For
Thanos, you need a whole lot more set up as to just what a badass he is and
this issue failed, I think. It’s a
shame, because this series hasn’t been that bad, all things considered.
Verdict – Pass
A vs. X #3. I’m going to keep this one short. The action wasn’t up to par with previous
weeks, the wit wasn’t there, and I was 1-for-2 in predicting the winners. Previous weeks have been better and hopefully
upcoming weeks will be more like those issues instead of this one.
Verdict – Pass
Batgirl #10
reaffirmed my interest in Gail Simone’s Batgirl title. I liked seeing Barbara show the human side of
the mask and show empathy for the people she’s rescuing. I know next to nothing about Knightfall,
though, so I’m going to be in the dark going forward in this storyline.
Verdict – Recommended
Batman #10. As Night of the Owls finally winds down, we
get a revelation of supposedly Bruce Wayne’s long lost brother who was
apparently either born early, stillborn and reanimated, or something along that
line, it escapes my mind at the moment.
Verdict – Recommended
Batman and Robin #10. I can’t help but feel this was a Damian Wayne
ego-booster issue and we all know there just hasn’t been enough of that
lately. My sarcasm aside, I enjoyed
seeing the different former Robins come together (even if Stephanie Brown is
missing), but the focus of the story was Damian and Tim Drake. I don’t know what they were supposed to
accomplish with this issue, especially considering Tim Drake is meant to be
featured in a completely different book that I dropped issues ago. This book has become something of a
disappointment following a great opening run as the last two issues I couldn’t
bring myself to wholeheartedly recommend and, in this case, I’m going to
suggest you just save your money.
Verdict – Pass
Captain America #13
was… pretty forgettable, honestly. There
were some good bits of Henry Gyrich getting his, but nothing else that really
stands out. We get ready for the final
showdown between Cap and the new Scourge.
This was just setup, but it wasn’t particularly compelling setup. I wouldn’t completely write this one off
though as the characterization is pretty good, the art is good, and it tells a coherent
story.
Verdict – Cautiously Recommended
Deadpool #56. I am quickly losing patience with Deadpool
again. I thought this book was supposed
to be funny. So why am I not laughing? It seems they’re trying to change Deadpool up
and try to play him more straight, like a genuinely psychotic Moon Knight, and
that’s not the way you want to go with Deadpool. The story of him losing his regeneration
powers has potential, but it seems to be wasted here.
Verdict – Pass
Demon Knights #10. I’m glad to be back with this book and glad
to see things are picking up again like they were in the first few issues. This is one of those titles where I’m in the
dark as to all of these characters, so I’m learning as I go, but the team is definitely
enjoyable, if not for some personality flaws, but hey, I’m always open to
character development. If you’re not
reading this, give it a shot. You might
enjoy it if this is your kind of thing.
Verdict – Recommended
Fantastic Four #607
was one of the standouts in a pretty bad week for comics. Reed and Sue travel to Wakanda to meet with
the Black Panther and Storm about the revival of the inert vibradium, the
principal metal of the kingdom. I like
the fact that Reed seems to have taken a step back from being the stuck-up
science thumper he was for a while and genuinely acts like a hero and friend to
a fellow hero. It isn’t enough for me to
want to give FF another chance outside of choice issues, though.
Verdict – Recommended
Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #10 remains one of
the standout series of the new DC Universe to me. We get some good action, some hints of a
future Frankenstein/Nina relationship, and good setup for the next issue. And… that’s about all I want to say. It was a well done issue for a well done
series. Not one of the best, but I’m
enjoying it, especially considering how in the dark I am about the characters
as opposed to their old DC Universe counterparts, but unlike Demon Knights, I
don’t think it’s a wall here.
Verdict – Recommended
Green Lantern #10. It was a decent issue that serves as more of
a bridge to the next series of events, capping off with the return of Black Lantern
Black Hand. I’m not thrilled with the
dark turn the Indigo Tribe took, but I’m not terribly familiar with them, so
who knows, maybe this is just something I’m missing from the old DC
Universe. Still a good read with some
good character bits from Hal and Sinestro.
Verdict – Recommended
Mega Man #14
continues to suck and wouldn’t be getting my money if I wasn’t a major Mega Man
fanboy, but I’ve really lost patience with this book. It was bad enough they whip through the game
arcs, but now Ian Flynn is doing a poor job with the filler arcs. The villain is severely out of place in the
Mega Man universe and the character dynamics aren’t working at all.
Verdict – Pass
The Mighty Thor #15
was a step up from the last issue, but ends completely stupid with a Satanist character
being born out of a goth kid’s mind. If
they were trying to appeal to the darker side, the Thor books aren’t really the
books to deal with. But, hey, maybe this
will still surprise me. I don’t know what
they have in mind with Donald Blake, but this pattern of two sides of a hero
being split apart and the human side getting the royal shafting is really
starting to tick me off. It was bad
enough they turned Bruce Banner into a megalomaniacal bat-snap insane villain,
but to have Donald Blake crave godhood so much that he’d let himself be seduced
by one of Thor’s greatest enemies in the Enchantress, only to have his head
chopped off so it can ooze a new god is just… off-putting. The issue, though, is pretty good overall,
but how the two storylines tie together is something I’m not seeing clearly
yet.
Verdict – Recommended
X-Men Legacy #268
took a look back at a character I have absolutely no investment or interest
in. Frenzy. It’s a pretty straightforward story where she
explores her past in comparison to events happening around her as an X-Man
today. I can’t say it made me a fan of
Frenzy, though, and it certainly has little to do with the Avengers vs. X-Men
story, but it wasn’t terrible from what I read.
Maybe my expectations were high just because of last issue’s
awesomeness, but this is just me. Not
bad, but not enough to warrant a full recommendation.
Verdict – Cautiously
Recommended
And, there you have it.
Another week, another mess of comics.
It wasn’t a particularly thrilling week or one that gave me anything in
particular that I was thrilled to have read, but hey, it happens. It’s just a bummer that it happened with such
a heavy week. There is another big week
next week (they tend to happen together for me), but there are also better
titles next week, headlined by Daredevil, TMNT, and Ghostbusters. Hope to see you all then.
Cheers;
Graves
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