Marvel Comics
Avengers: X-Sanction #1: When buying this book, the comic shop owner said "Jeph Lobe gets about one out of four things right when writing." Right now, this isn't looking like that one out of four.
Loeb writes a very barebones script. While I can understand and respect writing a script that gives new readers as much info on the characters as possible, but this is a little extreme. Jeff Parker has done a great job with the Red Hulk making him a relatable character, but I'm reminded of his horrible origin here. But this is the first issue, so Loeb deserves a little slack. He recaps what happened to Cable in Second Coming fairly quickly and sets up the nature of the miniseries well as well. I just wish I knew more about what is going on. The final panel doesn't hit home the way it should, and it's lazy writing. While it is possible for writers to give us cliffhangers we know won't stick, they still need us to care for them (Zeb Wells in Avenging Spider-Man #2 is a good example).
On the plus side though, Ed McGuinness' art is brilliant. The lines are crisp and the action is fluid. Morray Hollowell's colors fit perfectly in this issue. The issue is one big fight scene, which suits McGuinness' somewhat cartoony art. The reader can feel that Cable is having a hard time of living at the moment, which looks great. I'll probably continue reading this book just to see his art.
Avengers: X-Sanction #1 gets 3/5.
Dark Horse
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #4: It's safe to say that this series can last without Joss Whedon writing every issue. #4 is a nice end to the arc while starting a few threads for this season.
Andrew Chambliss' writes a great Buffy issue. He's got a great handle on the characters (not as good as Christos Gage), and can make the Joss dialogue seem genuine instead of it seeming hokey. Kind of wish this new villain was sticking around for a while, as he was a worthy advisory to Buffy. Having Spike interested in Buffy again is nice, as well as introducing a new love interest. I could be wrong, but I think that Detective is going to be a love interest. Again, Xander has some of the best lines in the issue, even thought he only has about two lines.
What keeps this issue from getting a perfect score, much like previous issues of Buffy, is George Jeanty's pencils. They are good, but still not as good as they should be. The fight scenes look great, and close ups on the characters look great as well. But there are still a few instances of losing detail the second characters go into the foreground. At least Jeanty has gotten down what their actor counterparts look like.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #4 gets 4/5.
DC Comics
Demon Knights #4: Demon Knights continues to be nothing like any other DC book on the market. Even when Paul Cornell is spinning his wheels plot wise.
Paul Cornell takes time out this issue to give us the back story of the Shining Knight a backstory and his/her(?) motivations going forward in the book. It would have been nice to see what happened next, especially with #3's great cliffhanger, but this was still a fun side track. I put a question mark next to the Shining Knights' gender, as it's a little difficult at this point to tell. The quest that the Knight is going on is an old one, but Cornell still makes us want to see the Knight continue. His Merlin is a character I wish was around in the book more. Having another character get hit as the cliffhanger seems a little lazy, even if it pays off in the end.
Diogenes Neves takes a back seat in this issue on art duties and gives it over to Mike Choi. Neves still pencils the real scenes, while Choi tackles the Shining Knight's and Merlin's conversation in the vision. Choi's pencils are good, but nowhere near the level of Neves. The faces on characters disappear the second they hit the foreground. But in the long run, this issue gave Neves plenty of time to catch up for future issues.
Demon Knights #4 gets 4/5.
Demon Knights #4 gets 4/5.
DC Comics
Green Lantern #4: Geoff Johns has told some epic Green Lantern stories in his days, which makes me wonder.....what does he have planned with this current arc?
Johns has a great hold on what makes Hal and Sinestro tick. The best part is seeing them agree (to a degree) and Hal supporting Sinestro. It's great to read, even to long time readers like myself. What worries me though is that something seems.....off with the arc. It doesn't have the usual energy that Johns' Green Lantern arcs do. The idea of Hal and Sinestro trying to rescue Korugar is a great plot, but it doesn't' seem to have the weight that a mission like this should have. And #3's cliffhanger was quickly washed aside, which isn't like Johns. I suspect #4's cliffhanger will most likely be washed away as well.
Doug Mahnke's pencils are very wild. That's a good and bad thing. There are a few pages where it looks fantastic, and then the next page looks rushed and half hearted. Even worse, the half hearted panels make up the majority of book. What happened to the Mahnke that penciled Green Lantern for so long? It's not like he suddenly doesn't have time.
Johns has a great hold on what makes Hal and Sinestro tick. The best part is seeing them agree (to a degree) and Hal supporting Sinestro. It's great to read, even to long time readers like myself. What worries me though is that something seems.....off with the arc. It doesn't have the usual energy that Johns' Green Lantern arcs do. The idea of Hal and Sinestro trying to rescue Korugar is a great plot, but it doesn't' seem to have the weight that a mission like this should have. And #3's cliffhanger was quickly washed aside, which isn't like Johns. I suspect #4's cliffhanger will most likely be washed away as well.
Doug Mahnke's pencils are very wild. That's a good and bad thing. There are a few pages where it looks fantastic, and then the next page looks rushed and half hearted. Even worse, the half hearted panels make up the majority of book. What happened to the Mahnke that penciled Green Lantern for so long? It's not like he suddenly doesn't have time.
Marvel Comics
Journey Into Mystery #632: Leave it to Kieron Gillen to write a Christmas issue that furthers the plot along in a fantastic way. Oh, and there are awesome hell puppies.
The Christmas issue is usually left to short stories in anthology books, but Gillen uses it great here. He builds off old plot lines well, in a both dramatic and humorous way. The hell puppies are hysterical and hopefully Gillen will find a place for them every month. It's small things like trying to give hell puppies a home makes us readers that Loki might have changed. It's like reading and hoping that Loki doesn't turn evil, but you know he will. Which will be all the more heartbreaking when it finally happens. Gillen continues the streak of having Journey Into Mystery the best book at Marvel right now.
Mitch Breitweiser's pencils are beautiful. They fit the godly atmosphere of the Asgardia so well, and the puppies have the menacing, yet funny look that they need. With any luck, he will stay on the book for the rest of the run. But the pencils are so great because of Bettie Breitweiser's colors. They look fantastic and pop off the page. I couldn't stop staring at this comic, even after I was done reading.
Journey Into Mystery #632 gets 5/5.
Marvel Comics
S.H.I.E.L.D. #4: Jonathan Hickman's epic continues, although our hero is still in the backseat.
As interesting as Leonid seems, he has been criminally absent in this volume. But thankfully the plot is moving along. Hickman inserts the Marvel universe well (that should silence the people who say this doesn't belong in continuity). Hickman's use of the same scene three different times was nice to read, and creates a lot of great possibilities for the last two issues. But this series only has two issues left. The plot has no way of finishing up all the threads. Leonid needs to be used in future books, since Hickman has barely used him in the almost 10 issues of both volumes.
The real star of S.H.I.E.L.D. though is Dustin Weaver. It's worth the two month wait times in between issues, as his pencils look beautiful. There are still a few instances of pencils looking rushed or slightly unfinished. His pencils of the Marvel universe look great, and if he can find a book that can handle his pencil time, they should find a regular book for him after S.H.I.E.L.D. ends.
S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 gets 3.5/5.
Old Comics
Amazing Spider-Man #675 gets 4.5/5.
New Avengers #18 gets 3.5/5.
The Mighty Thor #8 gets 4/5.
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