Next up, Zorro #1: Holy crap am I glad I picked this one up. The mood of the back story is so perfectly portrayed, you really get a sense of how intense Diego de la Vega is as a character. I had heard mention of Diego’s insistence he watch a woman be flogged for her father being unable to pay taxes, so that he would forever have the injustice burned into his mind, but it was something else to see on the page. While done tastefully, the scene was still extremely dramatic. Matt Wagner seems to be a fantastic dramatic writer, and i am incredibly pleased with this book so far. Excellent work!

Marvel Zombies 2 #5: Whats with the neat and tidy endings?! Nothing about the way this finally concluded made me want to read more. I would have preferred they ended it roughly two pages early and left it open. I enjoyed the series more than I thought I would, but I still want to sell it as soon as I can. Anyone want to buy the set off me?

Daredevil #105: Like Ian’s mentioned, Marvel’s Batman. Its unbelievable how badly messed up Matt Murdock’s life became in this arc. Mr. Fear totally did a number on his life… worse than civil war in my opinion. It was easy to come back from that. Its tough to think about… what would you do if your wife was left more or less incapacitated by fear and killed someone unintentionally because of it. Its a terrible thing to think about. Yet Brubaker writes Murdock really well, and leaves the emotion streaming off the page. Another great read this week.

Thor #6: Another story building issue. I really enjoyed it. There was plenty of comical dialogue, as you would expect when the citizens of Asgard go to a town hall meeting in rural Utah. It was really interesting to see Straczynski’s take on the interaction between Norse gods and the rural working class. I know Thor misses his lady also, but would you really want to risk the return of Odin? It was easy to see the importance of this choice via the storytelling and awkward conversation Thor has with himself about it in the diner. This book has a strange feel to it… like too many people in Utah are taking peyote and seeing mythical beings in a flying city. I can’t say I don’t enjoy it, however. I really like this book, and I was quite pleased again.

Also, I’m lazy and don’t feel like linking right now. Marvel info is at marvel.com and zorro is made by dynamite… you can google it.

seeya!

-brian

Mouse Guard Winter 1152 #3. Its finally out! It was originally supposed to be out
in December, but David Petersen got caught up in other things, I suppose. Speaking of, I have an interview I did with Petersen to post soon.

Marvel Zombies 2 #5. Final issue. I’m kind of glad its over, since it was getting a bit drawn out. But hey, Zombie Thor v. Zombie Silver Surfer on the cover? Yes please. Hopefully its a suitable ending.

Daredevil #105. I’m still saying Daredevil is Marvel’s Batman. This arch has him up against his own Scarecrow: Mr Fear. I think its coming to an end soon? Yup, this issue.

X-Men Legacy #208. I’m giving this one a read, since Messiah Complex was pretty good, and the end has me interested. I can’t really see myself sticking with it for very long, but what the hey. Also: how do you change the name of a book, but keep the numbering? Seriously Marvel, wtf?

Lazarus #3. Okay, I’m not sure how I feel about this miniseries yet, but with this, the final issue, I should probably have a good idea soon. I should do a whole write-up on it once I’m done.

Okay, for the ones I’ve already read this week, continue reading.

Gravel #1. After issue #0, I knew I wanted to read this book. Its Warren Ellis, so I guess that’s no surprise. Its his take on the occult detective, I guess. Violent (no surprise), and one scene reminded me of something out of Hellboy. Imagine if Hellboy was a British occult detective/wizard/badass, and was hunting down a bunch of dudes who fucked him over, and fighting monsters and magic on the way, but written by Ellis. That should give you a pretty good idea. Super awesome.

Batman #674. Grant Morrison, after my skepticism, I would like to apologize. You wrapped this story arch up pretty neatly, oh, and you left it open for some more AWESOME.

Seriously, he explained and dealt with the three Batmen pretty well, but I still think he’s working toward something even bigger. I wasn’t too thrilled with his run on this book, but I think (now that some of the pieces are falling into place) I’m coming around.

All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder #9. Longest name for a comic ever. But hey, its Frank Miller and Jim Lee, so they could call it Crapfest Shitstorm and I’d buy it.

So this story is getting better with each issue. The newly-formed Justice League (always one of my least favorites) is pissed about Batman beating the crap out of people, and how it makes them look, so they send the Green Lantern to talk to him.

(SPOILER ALERT)

So what does Batman do? He tells Hal Jordan to meet him at one of his safehouses, and he and Robin proceed to paint the whole place (and themselves) yellow. Drinking lemonade and the whole nine. Its so fucking awesome. And then Robin beats the hell out of the Green Lantern. Its great.

Captain America #35

Daredevil #105

Thor #6

Marvel Zombies 2 #5

Batman #674

All-star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #9

The Lone Ranger and Tonto #1

Gravel #1

and Zorro #1 (which came out last week but I neglected to pick up.)

-brian