Yeah, I’m a little behind again, but one small week and one big week combine together so nicely. Lots of good books over the last few weeks, including a return of a favorite series, and an interesting new series. Here we go…

PULL LIST 08-06 & 08-13-08 Criminal #4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer #17 Final Crisis #3 Invincible Iron Man #4 Ultimate Origins #3 Secret Invasion #5 Secret Invasion: X-men #1 Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #2 Batman #679 Chuck #3 Zorro #6 Welcome to Hoxford #1 Atomic Robo: The Dogs of War #1

Criminal #4
Starting out this week, we get one of my favorite series, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillip‘s Criminal. This issue starts a new arc, dealing with Jacob, who it turns out we met before in one of the previous stories. He’s the creator of a comic strip that has shown up in the book before, but he also has a past as a counterfeiter. His life kind of sucks; he has crippled legs, he suffers from insomnia, he’s very isolated, but all that changes when he’s pulled into a violent exchange. This is a set up issue for the rest of the arc, so there’s not a lot of action here, but Brubaker brings his usual skill to the story. It’s hard to talk about this series when everything is so consistently good. I would like to highlight the coloring by Val Staples in this issue. The use of color in this issue is very effective in showing the characters emotions, and I thought it was really well done. If you’ve been looking for a good time to check out this series, give this issue a shot. If you like good crime drama, this is the book for you. —5 out of 5

Mighty Avengers #5
Woo, it’s finally out. And I’d say it was worth the wait. Frank Cho draws a tremendous beat down between femme-Ultron and the Sentry, while the rest of the team works on a plan to stop her, and she works to launch the United States nuclear weapons. Brian Michael Bendis does a great job with the characters in this issue. Ares in particular gets his issue to shine. I also think the Bendis reached a good amount of the thought bubbles, as I’ve found them too numerous to the point of distraction in previous issues, but he made good use of them here. I only hope that issue 6 doesn’t take as long to come out. But I’m not holding my breath. —4 out of 5

PULL LIST 10-17-07 Mighty Avengers #5 Fables #66 Marvel Comics Presents #2 Wasteland #12 Maintenance #5 Powers #26 Scalped Vol. 1: Indian Country

Fables #66
Woo, again, as the storyline makes some forward progress. Flycatcher begins to create his new kingdom in the heart, and proves that he can be a tough ruler as he banishes Bluebeard and Shere Khan, which is all part of his plan. This puts into motion a bigger plan to attract the attention of the Adversary, and what do you know, there should be a good showdown next issue. I’ve complained a bit recently that the story has taken it’s time to get to some action, and it looks like my request has been answered. This is another great issue in a continually great series. —5 out of 5