World War Hulk: X-Men #1

June 26, 2007

Quick Rating: Surprisingly Good
Title: Hard Questions
Rating: A

The Hulk hunts Charles Xavier – but he’ll have to go through the New X-Men first!

Writer: Christos Gage
Art: Andrea DiVito
Colors: Laura Villari
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Andy Schmidt
Cover Art: Ed McGuinness
Publisher: Marvel Comics

When the Illuminati voted to blast the Hulk into space, one of their number was missing – Charles Xavier. Now that Xavier has returned to Earth, his powers and ability to walk both restored, the Hulk has a question for him. After issuing his ultimatum to New York, demanding Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Strange be turned over to him, he pays a visit to Xavier’s school, seeking Xavier, and as most of the instructors are absent, it’s up to the New X-Men to hold the line.

It doesn’t hurt that the Beast (my all-time favorite X-Man) is the defacto leader in this issue, but I was totally surprised. I was worried that we’d have another superfluous miniseries that doesn’t really matter or interest me at all, and while the ultimate impact on the overall WWH storyline remains to be seen, taken as a self-contained story, this is actually really good. Gage absolutely nails both Hank McCoy and the students at Xavier’s. In fact, by the time I put this book down, I was ready to start a letter-writing campaign to have him take over writing New X-Men full-time. The only real problem is the question the Hulk asks at the end of the issue. While it’s certainly a valid one, it’s hard to believe that it would be a top priority for him at this point. That doesn’t hurt the book much, though, just adds a nugget of disbelief.

Andrea DiVito’s artwork, naturally, is gorgeous. This is the sort of old-school “Hulk versus the X-Men” brawl that you’ve got to want to see if you bother picking up this issue at all.

This book was a total surprise, and for once, it was a good one.

Rating: 8/10

G.I. Joe: Infestation #1

March 27, 2011

Writer: Mike Raicht
Art: Giovanni Timpano
Colorist: J. Brown
Letterer: Chris Mowry
Cover: John K. Snyder III
Editor: Andy Schmidt
Publisher: IDW Publishing

The most bizarre crossover of the year continues. The Baroness is planning an attack on a ship full of new G.I. Joe members on the cusp of their “final exam.” When she takes one of the heroes into custody she gets an unexpected bonus – a cyber-organic arm that she brings back for study. The arm carries a nasty secret of its own, one that threatens not just Cobra, but the entire world.

While perhaps the most well-written of the three Infestation crossovers so far, this is also the one that seems to have the last direct link to the main storyline. The zombie angle seems secondary, and in fact, this could easily be a story about any number of other threats – hell, even a malignant computer virus would work just as well, the way things are presented. That may change in part two, of course, but as of part one, this almost doesn’t have to have zombies at all. On the other hand, it’s a really solid issue of G.I. Joe. The Baroness is a nasty, manipulative bad guy, and Psyche Out is well cast as the “last Joe standing” in the depths of the Cobra submarine.

Giovanni Timpano puts together a dark, dirty set of pages that works fine as a military thriller, but also will easily acclimate the horror movie aspects of the larger storyline. It’ll be interesting to see if part two brings this miniseries more in line with the overall story thread, but for the time being, it’s pretty good on its own.

Rating: 7/10

Batman #625

March 30, 2004

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Broken City Part Six

Azzarello and Risso leave Batman with a cap to the mystery of Angel Lupo.

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis and Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Eduardo Risso
Publisher: DC Comics

And the “Broken City” arc comes to its conclusion, with some fans sorry to see it end and others, myself included, relieved that another creative team will be taking over this title with the next issue. I’m sorry, folks, but “Broken City” just didn’t deliver for me. This issue gives us a clichéd cap to a clichéd “hardboiled” mystery, an inexplicable appearance by the Joker (this isn’t a spoiler, he’s right there on the cover) and an overwhelming feeling that I’m just glad its done.

Aside from the fact that the mystery of the arc never really grabbed me, the sudden inclusion of the Joker feels entirely superfluous, as though he’s only there so that Azzarello can say he wrote a Joker story. Plus, with him running around on the loose over in Batman: Gotham Knights but laced up in Arkham here, it’s no wonder some fans feel intimidated by so many bat-books. I don’t mean we should necessarily keep a chart somewhere showing where villains are at all times, but especially in the Batman books I don’t feel like there’s any effort at reason with them at all anymore – a villain is incarcerated when the writer needs him to be and on the loose when he needs him to be, rarely if ever showing him escape and rarely if ever showing him actually getting captured. There’s no sense there.

Risso for all the skill he’s shown in 100 Bullets, sacrifices more and more of his style to a Frank Miller pastiche in this issue. From body type to facial structure to the weird “chapped lips” look Batman has in come panels, it’s like looking at something Miller drew 20 years ago instead of something Risso drew in the here and now.

I’m sorry to the fans who enjoyed this run, but I simply don’t see what the appeal was. “Broken City” never felt fresh or original to me, it felt like a halfhearted attempt to pay homage to the Miller days and never quite lived up to it.

But at least we’ve probably seen the last of the Killer Croc’s ‘fro.

Rating: 4/10