Where My Money Went - Dec. 17th

Every Wednesday, I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


I know Christmas comics are supposed to be lame but whatever, I'm a sucker. The Frank Quitely cover is great, I love sappy shit like this. The first story alone makes the book worth it, a story about Santa's origin, explaining he's the last son from an ice planet. His parents shot him into space on a path to Earth so he could keep their race alive. That's cool, right guys?



I know we just had our Larry Marder interview but we have to talk about the new Beanworld: "Every Cutie Deserves A Toy." I'm basically over the color shit because it just means that now I know that there are boys and girls, and the only girl isn't Professor Garbanzo! I had no idea! The new Beanworld trade comes out in February, so finally I can get people into Beanworld without hunting down the trades that are impossible to find. Larry Marder is basically a genius, he hasn't missed a beat since the last TOTB book, it's incredible how real it all feels to me and how much I understand from all the Bean Dudes. Best comic ever?


I waste (and I do mean waste) a lot of money on Marvel Comics. However, I think DC characters are never enough, even when the writing is great the characters never feel developed enough. But I LOVE Marvel, the characters sometimes act like people you know and actually feel like personalities. I buy so many Marvel books because I hope it'll be interesting, and then I get shit like this. $3.99 for extended versions of the previews I got at the end of Dark Reign. I never feel ripped off or am this person who feels cheated but Marvel is sorta fucking with me.


Madman #12 separates Joe and It-Girl, and has more weirdo Mormon stuff, but ends with return of Madman's biggest villain! Allred's panel design and way of playing with motion in a single panel continues to evolve and grow, he's basically on his way to changing comics again. Madman-Joe (Madwoman? Madgirl?) is exciting, possibly leading into Frank putting together an all new super hero team, and maybe even leading a new Atomics?

Where My Money Went: December 10th

Every Wednesday, I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


I hate Superman. He just doesn't do it for me, but in the few stories I do enjoy (Birthright, For All Seasons, a few others) are about him as a sad character, not a hero. I don't want to see him as this cry baby all the time, just the dude is possibly immortal, will out live everyone he loves, and has to save the world five times a week and still hold up a day job. I have a hard time doing anything productive with my free time and I don't even try that hard at my job. I want to see his humanity over his super-humanity.

Last issue Supes finds a boy he thought he had saved from Vampiredom stealing plasma from a hospital. Feeling a debt to the boy (and I'm sure himself) Superman takes him to Dr. Langstrom (aka the Man-Bat) to try and extract the Vampire genes inside him. While there, Werewolves attack and Langstrom does the unthinkable, becoming Man-Bat again by taking an experimental batch of his serum. Superman fights off the Werewolves, but since he's vulnerable to their attacks, isn't much use unless he kills the Werewolves, but Superman isn't a killer, he's a hero.

Man-Bat rips flesh and throws the Werewolves around, proud of each kill and eager for more. Superman can only fend off the monsters long enough to wait for an opening to throw them to his ally. He could never bring himself to kill the beasts but knows what needed to be done, despite his farm boy morals, aiding in their deaths. Feeling guilty, he gives Langstrom the antidote and returns his attention to the boy, someone he can save instead of kill. These are times I like Superman.


This comic was $3.99 for what you could have figured out from last page of Secret Invasion #8, a bunch of ads (including two double pager spreads!), and three previews. The art is awful, quite frankly worse than last week's What If: House of M bullshit, I mean come on, Namor a jewish guy with a receding hair line? With a five o'clock shadow? I'm basically this Marvel stooge but even I couldn't get into this one. What a waste of money.


Speaking of poorly drawn Marvel comics, let's get into What If?: Fallen Son. Marvel is just allowing amateurs to do the current run of What If? books, which is the only explanation for how terrible this comic looks. The pages are full of incomplete faces, bodies and limbs, hidden or drawn only in part with bad coloring for cover up. At least Rob Leifeld drew faces and chests, there are twenty one feet in this issue, but only four of which make sense.


In Batman Confidential: "Do You Understand These Rights?" we're given The Joker and Batman at their best. The Joker is a murdering unknown psychopath who can't be trusted with anything from a peanut to a pillow, making jokes and laughing while killing everyone around him. Batman is in the shadows and wearing disguises, exchanging notes with Gordon who is still unsure of the new masked vigilante.

Joker is declared guilty, and shortly after kills another with a banana peel. Taken to a Psychiatric Hospital where he will no doubt escape, he manages to look dangerous with that smile and hair. Gordon takes a bullet from a cop who is sick of the super-crime freaks in his city, just adding another case to Batman's plate.

The colors are classic, as in 1987 comic vibrant, Joker jumping off the page while Batman stays in the back, Gordon and other "normal people" making a perfect middle ground. It's writing is light enough for anyone but keeps you at an arm's length, never giving you too much information about where the series is going while still keeping you interested. It's everything a comic should be.


After all my Marvel hate this week, it's only fair I review Wolverine: Flies to a Spider. A new Wolverine comic comes out every week, but not all of them are worth it, this one being exceptional. Even for being the "best at what he does", Wolverine still has a heart, especially around the holidays, the issue taking place on New Year's Eve. Wolverine walks into biker gang "Road Dogs" regular bar, takes out everyone wearing colors, and sits down. No matter how many people they send in, he takes them out quick and easy, not uttering a word. The gang's leader calls in for a favor from the man they run drugs for, a big time Mob Boss who is currently paying off local law enforcement to cover up the death of a young girl caused by the Road Dogs.

Wolverine goes through all the muscle sent after him while being kept company by an old drunk trucker, the uncle of the young girl killed, who is just happy to see someone fighting for the right thing. Not even remembering the murdered girl's name, the boss blows Wolverine off as another tough guy and decides to come out with the big guns to take care of him. Logan turns the dead gang's bikes into bombs with their gasoline and flares, killing all the hired muscle and badmen who came for him. Standing over the dying Mob Boss' body, he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a newspaper article, uttering his only words in the comic "Her name was Ruthie Jordan."

Where My Money Went - Dec. 4th

Every Wednesday, I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


Secret Invasion may be over, but the ripples it has caused will be felt in the Marvel Universe for years to come, or at least until the next event book. Stark returns to the battle field sporting an "old school' suit not attached to the Stark Tech main frame, and despite the throwback look, he's still seen as more of an enemy than a hero to his peers.

Skrulls are defeated, and everyone is looking at the Skrull Queen/Spider-Woman and ready to kill her, the heroes becoming momentary villains for the good of earth, when Norman Osborne shoots her in the head. The entire world sees this act and dude becomes the hero of the war, sorta like a Giuliani in 9/11, except people managed to forget Osborne was you know, the Green Goblin. Everyone goes their own way and it's revealed that Osborne has gathered together an intense group that mirrors the Illuminati, so much that Namor has joined up. Bringing the Prince of Atlantis back in as a bad guy is an idea that opens lots of doors. Emma Frost of the X-Men is also there, along with Dr. Doom, Loki, and The Hood. I can see what all of these people have to gain from an alliance with Osborne, but Emma Frost? What is going on in the world?


X-Men Noir feels half like an old pulp novel without the grit and half like Marvel 1602 where you know the characters are based on Marvel's cast, but you can't always place them. Someone's killing Xavier's "X-Men" who are hinted at being powered, but no one is giving it up, similar to Sub Mariner: The Depths in that it forces you to question if it's a fantasy book or not. It's not a very strong issue but it's not weak enough for me to write it off yet, right now it just feels like X-Factor but not as interesting.


What If?: House Of M should be an easy sell. What if instead of Scarlet Witch taking all mutants' powers away, she took all super powers away from all meta humans? Black Bolt would be able to speak but powerless, Namor wouldn't be able to breathe under water, Wolverine could be killed. Captain America ages in a matter of moments, becoming what we can only assume is dust. For some it'd mean a chance at normal life, but others it means losing the only life they ever wanted.

I have nothing but great things to say about the writing and story, the art however, was the worst thing ever. Imagine the cliche graffiti that every weird nerd in UFO pants does in your high school, but applied to super heroes. The artist ignores anatomy completely, arms and legs all different lengths, and the faces are even worse, contorting in ways only mud does. It's the kind of art you see in sad 90's independent comics and show your friends because you can't believe "Universe Extreme Comics" would even publish it.

It's simply amateur work that pushes you away from books you want to read. GURU eFX tries to hide the pencil's mistakes with digital coloring but just accentuates the problems, placing Liefeld shine and "ink" to cover blank spots. If it were hand inked some of the problems could have been corrected, even Liefeld used an inker. What was Marvel thinking here?

Where My Money Went - Nov. 27th

Every Wednesday, I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


Brandon wrote about this yesterday, and really nailed it. The Jim Lee cover has something hilarious about it, the characters seeming completely different under his pencil: White Violin looks like a member of Gen13. The Umbrella Academy is more of a family than a super-team, where they feel connected to each other but work as individuals to prove to their "father" their worth. To sorta cement this, U.A. uses "Futura", the same font Wes Anderson uses in Royal Tenenbaums.


Superman has no problem beating the shit out of zombie-looking Vampires and feral Werewolves, but when he recognizes a face, he becomes this wimp. Superman and Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves is secretly this great team book, where neither Superman or Batman are the main character. Green Arrow, Dimeter the Vampire, Janko the Werewolf, and now The Demon, are all fighting together. It feels like a Marvel book that brings old characters out of the white-box to make them exciting again. If only Kelley Jones drew this book...

The Thor one-shot series has gotten better and better with each and every issue. After reading DC Comic's The Ring of Nibelung it's awesome to see Thor and The All Father outside of super hero story lines, even if it's just retelling of myths. In this issue, Thor fights Brunnhilda, a Storm Giant, and his father Odin. It's more than a five minute read--like some of the Wolverine one-shots--making the $3.99 price point worth it.

Incredible Hercules continues to be my favorite monthly comic, even more so after the World War Hulk story lines have ended. Hercules, Namora, and Namor save Poseidon from the Amazons, but not the world, since they seek axis mundi, which will put them at rule of the planet. Marvel implants it's mythology-based characters into their own universe using their original tales as a basis, and then, building the story lines and current lives of those characters around that.

Secret Invasion: Inhumans has come to an end, but it's been left open for a new series, War Of Kings. Medusa and Crystal settle their differences and find the location of Black Bolt, who no longer needs their help. His connection with his son grows, Black Bolt's able to communicate with his child the same way he does to his wife. Escaping from his restraints, he blows a super skrull away with a fucking whisper and returns to his family. Crystal marries Ronan and the Royal Family realigns itself with the Kree, meaning that hopefully we'll be getting some more Marvel space comics. Great ending to a great mini-series. Here's some promo art to get you pumped UP:

Where My Money Went - Nov. 19th

Every Wednesday I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


The entire Avengers Invaders series has been okay. Throughout the series, Captain America and the rest of the Invaders never seem frightened enough by the fact that they have time-traveled, writing everything strange and new off to being a Nazi trick. The art is baffling, Alex Ross out of his element, having to draw comic books like normal people instead of the boring poses he usually uses. The pencils are stiff and the coloring just puts another nail in the coffin. The colors and inks (oh wait, there aren't any...) make Ross' art look like paint-by-numbers.

Issue #6 revolves around the S.H.I.E.L.D. L.M.D.s (Life Model Decoys) becoming "aware", thanks to the Original Human Torch's anger towards the human's use of robots which makes him think of the Nazis he was fighting in his own time. The S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier's acting up as well, which leads us to believe Torch isn't the real force behind it all. It's nice to see the story not revolve around Captain America or Namor, since they are both still active members of the MU and you know, not dead, but with six more issues to go, I don't know if I'll care next month.

Samurai: Legend is still one of my favorite monthly comics, even at $5.99. Samurai comics are a hard sell to a lot of people, usually because they are generally in that really scary manga form, but this one is done by two European dudes which gives it a fresh feeling and makes it accessible to snobs who won't read backwards. Samurai: Legend's secret is that isn't a samurai myth or legend as it's name suggests, but really just an insane science fiction comic. There are people coming back to life, sacred tattoos, monsters and you know, titties. This issue, Takeo and his companions split up due to trust being broken, and the secret of Takeo's brother and lineage is about to be revealed. There's only one issue left! I literally counted pennies so I could buy this book, that's how good it is.

Where My Money Went - Nov. 12th

Every Wednesday I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


Karen actually started picking up Avengers Fairy Tales and I pretty much shat all over it. After reading the first three I bought the fourth and final installment "for Karen", a story about She-Hulk getting knocked out by Whirlwind, and awakening in the World of Oz. The best part of the Fairy Tale books is that the characters aren't always easy to figure out. The casting choices are obvious Cap as the Cowardly Lion, Thor as The Scarecrow and Iron Man as Tin Man. It's fucked up to look just a little closer though and realize that without his Bravery Captain America is just a strong dude, Thor without his brain is just another viking but with you know, lightning and Iron Man without a heart is...well alright, Iron Man needs a heart.


Superman and Batman Vs. Vampires and Werewolves knows exactly how stupid it is, and that's it's strength. Batman screams the words "Superman, NO--you don't understand! It's--MAGIC" and then a giant snail monster knocks Supes into a building with one of his tentacles. Batman investigates and Superman punches Vampires and Werewolves while Werewolves and Vampires eat people. Then Green Arrow saves the day. This comic rules.


A Magneto origin story cleverly masks this powerful Holocaust historical narrative. Trying to protect his family, young Magneto becomes a smuggler and attempts to save his family but pushes them closer and closer to the camps. I have a hard time reading this comic because as much as I want his powers to manifest in that issue, once I start reading I only worry about his well being.


Without a doubt in my mind The Joker in Batman Confidential:Do You Understand These Rights? is based on the Mark Hamill Joker from The Batman Animated Series. He never speaks straight and is in love with Batman's polar opposite insanity, plays with puns and is a total mystery to everyone around him. On his way to his trial, Joker manages to steal a pen and kills the correctional officers driving him to the court house and steals the armored car. Being an upstanding citizen, Joker drives himself his hearing. One-faced Harvey Dent stands for all Joker has killed as a sad public defender attempts to make sense of the most nonsensical dude ever. Oh, and Joker kills the judge with a peanut.


After all the delays I'm so excited this book wasn't shitty. Wolverine #69 picks right up where #68 left off, not missing a beat. Wolverine saves Hawkeye, the two weirdos riding in the Spider-Mobile being chased by dudes on dinosaurs. Seriously, dinosaurs!! We see the Mole People's true nature, eating the flesh off of bodies that have fallen into their huge holes. The most messed up thing about the comic isn't even the story, it's the backgrounds. A hundred foot tall Loki in the middle of North Dakota (renamed Electroville) lies as a skeleton crushed by a Manhattan skyscraper. Think about that, North Dakota, Manhattan. Who the hell threw that building at Loki? Mount Rushmore has a new face mounted on it, Red Skulls thin layer of skin over his jagged bone head sits right next to Abe. The issue ends with Wolverine finally opening up to Hawkeye about what changed him, one page after the most powerful Wolverine panel ever. It's not often you see Wolverine cry.

Where My Money Went - Nov. 5th

Every Wednesday I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


Being a sucker for anything with Captain America in it, I probably would have bought this no matter what. After opening it and seeing Daredevil try to beat a man to death, I bought it. Once I got home, I found out it's an older European story written by a guy who did Euro-verse Disney stories, and the artist did a ton of Dylan Dogg covers. The two characters follow the same villain for different reasons, Daredevil to save a Hell's Kitchen's mother's son, and Captain America on a mission from Nick Fury himself. Classic Captain America, Classic Daredevil, and a Classic Villain. It's another one of the Euro comics Marvel has brought over that they plaster a huge "MATURE CONTENT" warning label on, but unlike the others this one has hardly any violence or language. I really can't understand why it's there, is Marvel just freaked out by these comics makers or something?It's worth the $4.99 price point, if it were DC Comics it would have been prestige format, but what are you going to do?


I have had a lot of conversations about where this comic is going and no one can agree. Is Namor going to show up or will it all be a hoax? Is the dude just seeing things or is Namor alive in their world? Who killed that entire crew? All the stories they believe become creatures they fear when the men reaches the last under water facility before they are lead into the depths to find Atlantis, or uh, not find it, proving it doesn't exist.


Machine Man gets what he came for, and discovers the Kingpin is in power and somehow has been keeping people in check and has managed to keep a human bride. Marvel Zombies 3 is the best MZ book to date. More on this soon!!


Magneto stories always feel so sad because he's so misguided. He goes about everything in the worst way possible and in Civil War: House of M he even has Charles Xavier's friendship and guidance to help him lead but still manages to make choices that end up just hurting Genosha and mutants in general. He uses Sabretooth as a weapon, which is what the humans fear about mutants, and doesn't understand allying with other nations does not mean rallying troops. Even when everything goes his way Magneto acts childish and kills Creed thinking it will help the cause. Bucky is sent in wearing Winter Soldier style clothes but a Captain America shield by Trask leading a strike team made up of Nuke and Mimic. House of M just translates to "What If...." stories that are mini series, allowing writers to do whatever they want with the characters. It's a good look.


After the surprise at the end of the last issue (there are fucking monkeys in Vietnam, what?) we get a few answers and learn the monkeys aren't just pure savages but are extremely human. The only bummer about the book is that it's $5.99 and I had to pay rent today, and then David Ford drops "It ends up being this $54 mini series." That is insane when you think about it. That being said, this issue was added so many Sci-Fi elements, and has already tricked everyone into reading a completely different story than what they bought. Also, it has a letters section which is a dying comics staple form yesteryear that just can't survive because of the internet. Why would someone want to put a letters section in their comic when people just use blogs and message boards? Reading old issues of comics and seeing the month to month theories on characters and story lines was incredible. Generally this is true with Pin-Ups as well, but they are making a comeback, and Guerillas has them as well. Also, one of the apes is named Goliath


First Class books (along with Marvel Adventures stories) are slept on by most comics readers due to the fact that they are directed at an "all ages" group which for real means children. Weapon-X: First Class is a retelling of Wolverine's time with Xavier trying to figure out his past and where he came from, discovering things like Weapon-X and former loves for the first time. Well, second time. No matter the progress he makes it seems like Wolverine is always one step behind himself. The art is really similar to the Wolverine: Saudade guy Phillippe Bouchet's work, to the point that some facial expressions were uh... referenced exactly. Some of the memories are redrawn panels from classic Wolverine stories, like the first part of Windsor Smith's Weapon X where Logan gets abducted is redrawn to show the event, which is awesome. This, however, is where the first issue ends. There's also a short Sabretooth story where Xavier tries to recruit Creed for his team to no avail. It has awesome art by Tim Seeley and Katie Desouza, with Sabretooth in a classic costume eating raw steak, you can't ask for much more.

Where My Money Went - Oct. 28th

Every Wednesday I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


The Skaar Son of Hulk series has been something I have been putting off writing about. Sword and Sorcery comics hardly exist anymore and the ones that do exist are poorly drawn, usually with the coloring doing all the work and the "pencils" being nothing but lay outs. Skaar is Conan the Barbarian on an alien planet, fighting giant monster and dragons, but no big titty slave babes. Suspected to be a prophet, Skaar is coming into his own as an Old Strong, worshipped and followed by some but feared by others. Skaar feels like an old Epic Illustrated story, but you don't have to deal with stoner comics dealers to get it.


Superman and Batman VS. Vampires and Werewolves #2 promises a "Tentacled Creature from Beyond!" and delivers this fucked up frog monster that Batman literally kicks in two after a vampire talks some trash to it. Superman finally shows up to fight a giant snail monster. Where is this story going?


So this bearded old guy kills a vampire-ish naked babe and then all these bondage S&M dudes run in and Ol' Beard uses the lady's head that's screaming like a banshee to stop them. He throws the head into his car and heads to a small town to find his Kindred. It's the kind of comic that leaves you wondering what happened but in that good "can't wait until next month" kind of way.


Hellboy "In The Chapel Of Moloch" is the first Hellboy written and drawn by Mignola since "The Island" in 2005. After "The Crooked Man" drawn by Richard Corben, and the Lobster Johnson series, I don't know how much I care about Mignola drawing his comics anymore. It's great to have what feels like this throwback Hellboy story, but after the actual character the movies added to the characters themselves, an almost lifeless Hellboy is completely noticeable and no longer excusable. The foot notes were a nice touch for those of us not in the know about all things occult, but the comic felt stiff, not much different than his covers. He can write an awesome horror story, but he needs the collaboration for his books to shine.


X-Force is a series for X-Nerds who are sick of all the continuity following and bullshit you have to get through to get a decent Super Hero Team book. Lead by Bastion, Anti-Mutant groups are back in the government trying to irradicate the X-Men and eventually all mutants. They've hired a teleporting mutant named The Vanisher to steal the Legacy Virus, and after tracking him down the team find out he doesn't have it and it may already be in the wrong hands. The team continues to grow with Domino and Elixir, and still manages to stay seperate from the other X-Books. Also, Warpath fights a monster bear.


Even if you're not a Secret Invasion reader, the Thor tie-in is worth your time. Skrulls have fallen onto new Asgard with a Super Skrull made up of Norse Gods, powered by the hammer of Beta Ray Bill. The power of the Gods was underestimated by the Skrulls, and they pay for the mistake. Great end to the three issue mini series, especially with the delays to the regular Thor series. Hopefully this will breed interest in Beta Ray Bill and we'll get a new series with Ol' Creepy Horse Face.


Incredible Hercules is my favorite weekly comic right now, I'm a sucker for burly dudes and Hercules is the burliest. Namor and Hercules fight for a few pages until Namora puts an end to it and they attempt to save Amadeus Cho, who's been kidnapped by Amazons. Namor asks Hercules to help him with his own mystery, the disappearance of Lord Poseidon. Stepping away from the aftermath of the events of Planet Hulk, Incredible Hercules is taking a new direction, combining mythology and Super Hero story telling for just great comics. Every other character from Greek Mythology they have brought back has been updated except Hercules, and that just makes the book more perfect. He's the same big, sorta dumb horny dude you've already read about, except he wears slightly more clothes.

Where My Money Went - Oct. 22

Every Wednesday I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


I read this on the bus ride home and immediately read it again. My first time through Secret Invasion #7 I sped through it, wanting the action, needing to know what fucked up thing was going to happen next. The second time I examined each panel looking for new Super Skrulls and cameo characters in the background. This series puts me in a place few comics do, my childhood, when two page spreads of fighting weren't from a lack of story telling but because one page couldn't contain the action. There's only one more installment of the event left, and questions are being answered. Spider-Man says it best when he says "Hey, you know what, this ain't so bad, all things considered. These big Earth shakers, I've been around them. You know when you have to worry, is when Uatu shows up." But then he shows up, so they are all fucked.


With a steep price point at $5.99, I didn't pick up the first Soleil comic Skydoll, but I could not pass up Samurai: Legend. It has the same huge "MATURE CONTENT" label on it as Wolverine: Saudade but here it makes a lot more sense. Visual narration is a big deal to me (I think you should be able to know what's going on page to page without reading text) and movement should feel like it's actually moving. The violence plays out in this comic like an old samurai film you'd watch late night on cable, but without the bad dubbing or engrish subtitles. The scenery is it's own character, feeling the dank depths of caves and freezing cold mountain tops, making you feel for and understand the characters more. Samurai Takeo is a masterless traveller searching for his destiny but becomes side tracked as his party begins to grow. They get chased by gnarly masked samurai who are basically monsters, while searching for answers and an ancient treasure called "The Thirteenth Prophet". I don't know what else you'd want.


I saw this thinking "Another X-Book?" but picked it up anyways since I'm a sucker for Wolverine. After all the drama in the main X-Men series, Wolverine is moving into his new home and unpacking his things, meaning a box with a six pack in it. His past catches up to him with a picture of a woman and an old spear head that fall on the floor after (a REALLY well drawn) Nightcrawler drops a box. After all his years without memories, the few he does have he constantly reflects on and regrets, so he decides to make good with the local crime syndicate since he's moved into their town. At the end of the story another one of Wolverine's ex-lovers appears along with another situation he may not get out of. I should have just summed this entire comic up as "Wolverine drinks beer and wears a cowboy hat and then fights a bunch of kung fu dudes, it's awesome." but I decided to give you guys little more.


I want good comics, not just any comics. Here's where my money didn't go:


I wanted to like Final Crisis. I wanted to be involved in both major company's event books, but Final Crisis didn't cut it. Not enough of the characters are interesting and half the time I really just didn't care. I thought the death of Martian Manhunter was incredible and very Morrison without being too metaphysical, but the third issue just bored me. I had to pick it up four times before I could really get into it. I didn't buy any of the tie-ins because I just didn't care. Nothing grabbed me in any of the books.


I read the Inhumans and X-Men Secret Invasion tie-ins, but the Spider-Man seemed strange. After the "Brand New Day" story line, it seems weird to put him back into continuity after pretending the Civil War didn't happen. The Super Skrull consisting of the Web Head's villains looked cool, but not enough to justify reading the issues. Maybe I'll read the trade.