Ultimate Power #9
Yep, that sure was an ending, wasn’t it? Jeph Loeb brings this series to a close, not with a bang, but a whimper. There are maybe two surprises in the whole thing, although if you’ve been reading Ultimate Spider-man, it kind of explains a pretty major plot point. It’s not awful but like the whole series, it’s just way underwhelming. The series rushes to a conclusion without any major drama. The art from Greg Horn is his usual work, so you can take it or leave it. Again, not bad just largely lifeless. If this was supposed to be a major event, than Marvel really missed the boat. —3 out of 5

PULL LIST 12-28-07 Ultimate Power #9 Ultimate Spider-man #117 Legion of Superheroes #37 Dan Dare #2 Captain America #33 Green Lantern #26 Avengers: Initiative #8

Ultimate Spider-man #117
On the other end of the Ultimates spectrum, comes the finally of “The Death of a Goblin” story, and I won’t hide the spoiler by saying that the title is correct. There’s a great three way battle that takes up most of the issue, but the standout scene is the ending, which shows once again that Brian Michael Bendis understands his main character. It’s another of the quiet emotional scenes this book has become famous for. I can’t praise Stuart Immonen enough for the work he has done on this series, and I can only hope he manages to meet or exceed the time that Mark Bagley spent. Why bother reading any other Spider-man books (except maybe Marvel Age SM) when you have this? —5 out of 5

Legion of Superheroes #37
This is the return of Jim Shooter to the characters that made him famous many moons ago, and it looks like this could be the start of a decent run. My chief concern going into this was that he would be writing the characters that Mark Waid changed for the most recent reboot the same as when he was writing the characters 30 years ago. Fortunately, my fear was needless, because he keeps the tone of the characters, while throwing them into a fun sci-fi story. It’s the first day for Lightning Lad as leader of the Legion and he has a tough time of it, sending the wrong people on missions and putting them in jeopardy. It’s a good start to the story with some great character interaction and some fine action. Art comes from Francis Manapul who has a very cartoony style, but it fits well here. The action has lots of movement but the story flows well and I could really get to enjoy his work. A vast improvement over the last few issues and I look forward to the rest of this run. —4 out of 5

Dan Dare #2
I think I’m starting to get the feel of this book, having never read it before, but Garth Ennis does a good job here of bringing new readers up to speed on the universe and explaining how bad the big threat is. My only complain really is that I wish there was more space action, but I’m sure that’s coming. The story gets set up well as Dan goes to the rescue of a colony that is under attack by aliens and does the old heroic thing and sets out for a last stand. Gary Erksine does the art, and it’s mostly well done, except some of the faces look like they are reused over multiple panels. The aliens are kind of standard looking, and I don’t know how much of that is Erksine just following old character models, or if it’s just laziness, I’m assuming it’s just character models. Still, it’s got me intrigued enough to pick up the rest of this arc and see where it goes. —3 out of 5

Captain America #33
Three guesses as to whom the new Captain America will be, but you’ll only need one. Ed Brubaker‘s story continues on its track which means this is another great issue. The showdown between Iron Man and the Winter Soldier finally happens and while there’s a decent fight, we know that neither character is actually going to die. Bru’s story has never been wild on surprises (although there have been some), it’s more about the way the story is told and the characters within it, and he continues to prove that his characters are compelling enough to tell a Captain America story without Cap. Steve Epting‘s art looks great with the help of Butch Guice (guess he needs something to do while “Ultimate Origin” is on hold) and who doesn’t love to see an arm fight by itself and take down a bunch of S.H.E.I.L.D. agents? Still great, still exciting, still the best book Marvel is putting out now. —4 out of 5

Green Lantern #26
Got to love when delays cause books to double ship in a month. Hot on the heels of GL #25, we start to see more of the aftermath of the Sinestro War, including the start of the GL Internal Affairs (or are they the GL Black Ops crew?) There’s not much info given on these new Alpha Lanterns, but there’s still some exciting action. John Stewart proves how much will power he has, Hal Jordan gets busy, and the Lost Lanterns put the new first law of Oa into action by killing a Sinestro Corp member in harsh fashion. It is a great way to start off the next arc of the story and it keeps the action moving after the end of the last major arc. Mike McKone gives the regular artists a break, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him handle the art full time. He handles all the characters well, and there’s a bunch running around and the work really has some punch to it. It’s solid superhero artwork, which fits this book to a tee. Man, this was a great week for books. —4 out of 5

Avengers: Initiative #8
It’s a battle of the Giants as Hank Pym (Yellow-jacket), Cassie Lang (Stature), and Eric O’Grady (the new Ant-man) put on their big boy (or girl) pants and throw down, only to be taken out by the Taskmaster. Is there any Marvel character cooler than the Taskmaster? Dan Slott has fun with his characters, juggling all the balls he has in the air, while adding some new wrinkles into the plot, and showing a very tender moment between two of the characters. The addition of Taskmaster and Ant-man should bring some fun to the book, and the mystery started here just adds another layer. This book has been surprisingly good, given what could be an unneeded plot set-up, but it’s become another one of my favorite Marvel books. If you’re enjoying the Marvel U now, you should be reading this book. —3 out of 5