BRIAN'S BRAIN: June 27, 2007

Wow, what a week for comics. I'll be keeping my reviews brief this week.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

DC COMICS

Amazons Attack #3: 3 out of 5
Written by Will Pfeifer
Art by Pete Woods
This is pretty much an overview title, with the real story taking place in Teen Titans and Wonder Woman. 'Nuff said.

Blue Beetle #16 (Countdown): 4 out of 5
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque
A great blend of humor and character. Blue Beetle takes on Jean Lorring as Eclipso! Also, Blue Beetle's secret power fantasy is not to be missed.

Countdown 44: 4 out of 5
Written by Paul Dini and Adam Beechen
Art by Carlos Magno
Countdown starts to pick up speeds. Billy Batson/Captain Marvel/Shazam confronts Mary Marvel about her new powers, Captain Atom/Monarch recruits Forerunner, Jimmy Olsen experiments with his power surges (not power escalations mind you), and Piper Trickster are on the run for their role in the death of Bart Allan/Flash. You know how cops get when you kill one of their own, so imagine what superheroes would do. Oh, and Holly visits an Amazonian woman's shelter. Okay, maybe that last one isn't as gripping, but it only takes up 2 pages, so at least it's short.

Fallen Angel #17 (IDW): 3 out of 5
Written by Peter David
Art by Joe Corroney
Yes, yes, I know this is no longer a DC title, but my friendly neighborhood comic shop keeps it in the Vertigo section, so what can you do? Anyway, not a whole lot happens here as it just leads up to Fallen Angel meeting Shi. Although Peter David provides some witty (as if he ever provides anything non-witty) commentary on the nature of free will.

Green Lantern Sinestro Corps Special #1: 5 out of 5
Written by Goeff Johns
Art by Ethan Van Sciver
This issue simply blew me. The Sinestro Corps move on the Green Lantern Corps with devestating results. Plus, Sinestro recruits one last unlikely member into the fold, and the true power behind the Sinestro Corps is revealed. Don't let the $4.99 price tag deter you. This issue is worth every penny, especially since it's...

BRIAN'S PICK OF THE WEEK

Teen Titans #48 (Amazons Attack): 4 out of 5
Written by Adam Beechen
Art by Al Barrionuevo
Wonder Girl and Supergirl have a lot in common. They're both blonde, they're both flying powerhouses, and they're both pissed at the U.S. government, who starts rounding up anyone remotely associated with the amazons. Miss Martian, Kid Devil, Ravager, and Robin find themselves caught in the middle.

Wonder Woman #10 (Amazons Attack): 4 out of 5
Written by Jodi Picoult
Art by Paco Diaz
The Amazons' secret weapon is revealed, and Wonder Woman takes drastic action to end the war.

MARVEL COMICS

Black Panther #28 (Civil War Initiative): 3 out of 5
Written by Reginald Hudlin
Art by Francis Portela
This title has really become a second Fantatic Four title. The foursome take on skrulls, zombies, and one giant bug. A fun tale, but nothing special here. Unless maybe your a fan of Marvel Zombies.

Cable Deadpool #42: 4 out of 5
Written by Favian Nicieza
Art by Reilly Brown and Jon Malin
A companion piece to X-Men #200 (although said title doesn't seem to know what's going on here in spite of Cable showing up in both issues). Cable battles former X-Men Gambit and Sunfire, while Deadpool faces down Senyaka! Who is Senyaka you ask? A member of the Acolytes I say. Who are the Acolytes?!? Sigh. I'm old. (When I was your age, comics only cost a $1.25!)

Daredevil #98: 4 out of 5
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Michael Lark
Determined not to let Milla to become the next Elektra or Karen Page, Daredevil battles Gladiater. How can you not love a villain, reluctant or otherwise, that can shoot saw blades from their wrist-gauntlets?

Fantastic Four #547 (Civil War Initiative): 3 out of 5
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Paul Plletier
The Frightful Four make their move on their Fantastic counterparts. One wonders how the (Wingless) Wizard patched things up with Paste Pot Peter aka the Trapster, but I digress. But did they account for Black Panther and his queen Storm? Unfortunately, we have to wait until next month to find out. Also, don't question Storm about whether her hair and/or eyes are natural. Ever.

Immortal Iron Fist #6: 3 out of 5
Written by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction
Art by David Aja
I was all set to drop this title, but being the completionist that I am, I decided to pick up this issue. I mean, everyone else seems to rave about this book, so I figured I should give it one more chance. I'm glad I did as, while it may not be my favorite, this issue was surprising enjoyable. Especially when Luke Cage tells Misty Knight she should get gay-married to her partner-in-crime, Colleen Wing. Okay, maybe I'm just a sucker for lesbians, even in jest. Or at least, "crazy white girls" with swords. Danny Rand has gotten a repieve, for now at least. He can thank the incredible confusing Moon Knight for that.

She-Hulk #19: 5 out of 5
Written by Dan Slott and Ty Templeton
Art by Rick Burchett
Ah, Dan Slott, or as I like to call him, the second coming of Peter David. Too bad your leaving this book, but at least you'll be leaving it in good hands. I just hope Peter will be able to pick up some if not all of Slott's well-developed supporting cast. Or at least Awesom Andy, even if he's been MIA for a while now. Anyway, the Leader goes on trial represented by Mallory Book. Jen's testamony is not to be missed! In fact, even the Leader aborted his prearranged escape attempt to see how things play out after Mallory tears Jen a new one on the stand.

Silent War #6: 4 out of 5
Written by David Hine
Art by Frazer Irving
Silent War concludes! Well, not really, as seem to be the trend in David Hine limited series. Seriously, this guy needs an ongoing series. Maximus makes his play for Black Bolt's throne (and his family), while Black Bolt himself fights a mutated squad of marines to protect Attilan. I just want to know how events here relate to Black Bolt's appearance in World War Hulk #1. Without giving too much away, I will simply say that it doesn't seem to fit either before or after the events WWH.

Thunderbolts #115 (Civil War Initiative): 4 out of 5
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Mike Deodoto Jr.
I have to admidt, I haven't been a big fan of the Thunderbolts reboot. I miss Atlas, Mach-Whatever, the Fixer, Zemo, Joystick, Speed Demon, and Blizzard. But I must admidt, the new Thunderbolts do make for an interesting read. Ellis show's he's not affair to shake things up as one the 'bolts (apparently) gets removed from the team in the worst possible way. Also, I don't usually comment on the art as I am by no means an artist, but wow! The art here is incredible detailed. From the flames on the opening pages to the sweat dripping off someone's face one the last page, the level of detail is just incredible.

World War Hulk Front Line #1: 5 out of 5
Written by Paul Jenkins
Art by Sally Floyd
Ben Urich and Sally Floyd report on the opening of World War Hulk. It's always nice to see a title that focuses not on superheroes but rather on "average joes", especially when its done so well.

World War Hulk X-Men #1: 4 out of 5
Written by Chris Gage
Art by Andrea Divito
This issue shows just why I love Chris Gage. He totally nails the character of the New X-Men (and Beast for that matter), so much so that it fits seemlessly with their own title. All too many writers seem to disregard the works of others, so much so that you end up with characters that don't even resemble themselves. Take Geoff Johns' Wonder Girl vs. Peter David's Wonder Girl for instance. Yes, there is something to be said for different takes on the characters and character development and what not, but to see such radical departures happen overnight...but I digress. Anyway, the New X-Men lead by Beast make an impressive showing against the Hulk, holding him off long enough for Xavier to evacuate the rest of the students. Only once they are safe does Xavier confronts the Hulk, who has some questions about Chuck's friends in the Illuminati.

X-Factor #20: 5 out of 5
Written by Peter David
Art by Khoi Pham
The X-Cell situations arrives at its (literally) explosive conclusion. X-Cell consists of Calliso, Marrow, the Blob (aka Sir Not Appearing in This Issue), and B-list former mutants Abyss, Reaver, Fatale, and Elijah Cross (a new character who has a Juggernaut-esque restored mutant power, not to mention the non-mutant power of being completely expendable). My only complaint is that Abyss serves as a dues ex machina of sorts to save Reaver and Fatale, not to mention himself, because they're not expendable at all (now if this were written by Frank Teri on the other hand...) Also, Maddox's one man performance of 300, M trying to save Fatale, and Layla Miller's comments on her "catch phrase" are great moments. Very few writers can successfuly mix humor into an otherwise dark, noirish comic, but then Peter David is no ordinary writer.

X-Men #200 (Endangered Species): 5 out of 5
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Humberto Ramos and Chris Bachalo
Last but not lest, we have X-Men #200, and the return of the Marauders! Yes, the Marauders, once formidable enemies of the X-Men turned cloned jokes return to their former glory as the adjectiveless X-Men are betrayed by not one, not two, but three of their number (aka, half the team with Cable and Sabretooth gone), although admidtedly one is possessed by Malice. One wonders if they were manipulating Rogue when she assembled her team. Luckily, Beast, Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Wolverine are on hand to help even things out. Mike Carey really knocks it out of the park with this one, but unfortunately I only have one Pick each week. With that in mind, we have the first ever....

BRIAN'S HONORABLE MENTION OF THE WEEK Oh, and also, the Beast enlists some unlikely allies in the first chapter of Endangered Species, also by Mike Carey.

Next Week: Countdown 43, Fallen Son Death of Captain America Iron Man, and more! Plus, Endangered Species continues in Uncanny X-Men #488.

BRIAN'S BRAIN: June 20, 2007

SPOILER ALERT!!!

DC COMICS

Catwoman #68: 4 out of 5
Written by Will Pfeifer
Art by David Lopez
By threatening little Helna, Hammer and Sickle keep Selina on the ropes all issue, and Holly arives for a last minute save. I usually hate it when the title hero is saved by another, but due to Holly's intrical part in the book, it works here. However, Holly then has to leave Gotham (for Countdown presumably), but it is not made clear just why that is. For such an important plot point, it feels very rushed and forced.

Checkmate #15: 2 out of 5
Written by Greg Rucka and Judd Winick
Art by Joe Bennett
As Checkout continues on to its conclusion, not much happens. They group tries to rescue the captured Boomerang, Nightwing, and Sasha Bordbaux, but they are misled to the wrong location. It turns out, they are really in North Korea (presumably), and Batman has to save the day. So the entire issue was just a pretense for bringing in Batman to the Outsiders. Both Checkmate and Outsiders have been dropped from my pull list, although being a completionist, I will pick up Outsiders #49 for the conclusion of this story.

Countdown 45: 4 out of 5
Written by Paul Dini and Tony Bedard
Art by J. Calafiore
Things start to pick from last week as the character of Forerunner is given some depth as she battles Donna Troy over the injured Jason Todd. Good Monitor intervenes to save the pair, which causes the Monitors to exile Forerunner for her failure. The Jimmy Olsen story is essential a recap of his journey from Countdown 51 to Countdown 46, and he gives some exposition on the New Gods for those who don't have access to Wikipedia. Holly Robinson makes a brief apperance, but neither the Rogues nor Mary Marvel appear in this issue.

Flash The Fastest Man Alive: 4 out of 5
Written by Marc Guggenheim
Art by Tony Daniel
Another one bites the dust. Without the Speed Force, Bart Allen is overwhelmed by the Rogues. But Bart fights on, and pays the ultimate price to save the day in the end. The last few pages are well done as Tim Drake (Robin), Jay Garrick (Golden Age Flash), and Jesse Quick (Liberty Bell) react to his death without any words. Less is more in this case.

Justice League of America #10: 4 out of 5
Written by Brad Meltzer
Art by Ed Benes
The Lightning Sage concludes! I'm not going to spoil the big event in this issue, even with a Spoiler Warner. All I will say is not to overlook this book.

Shadowpact #14: 4 out of 5
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Tom Derenick
Zauriel confronts Blue Demon over him making demons cool, and after teasing a fight for several pages, reason prevails. It sounds dull, but is in the able hands of Bill Willingham, it actually works much better than the typical hero vs. hero fight. Blue Devil calls for a press confrence where he tells kids not to do drugs, I mean make deals with the devil, stating how it has ruined his life and those of everyone he cares about. He then takes a leave of absense from Shadowpact to go into Hell to investigate what happened to his family, with Zauriel temporarily taking his place on team.

MARVEL COMICS

Amazing Spider-Man #541: 4 out of 5
Written by J. Michael Stracynski
Art by Ron Garney
The darker Peter Parker learns of the Kingpins involvement in the assassination attempt on Aunt May, and the Kingpin prepares for their showdown by bribing a guard into helping him escape from his cell (and more important, change out of his prison jumpsuit). Peter checks in on his Aunt, and decides to take the desperate measure of injecting her with his Spider-Blood, as it has saved her life one before (albeit with side effects later on). Then Spider-Man and the Kingpin meet face to face in the prison, as the inmates look on in anticipation of their fight.

Annihilation Conquest: 5 out of 5
Written by Dave Abnett and Andy Lanning
Art by Mike Perkins
This review will be biased. The Phalanx Covenant was the event going on when I first got into comics, so can hardly be abjective here. Not to mention it features Phyla-Vell and Moondragon, two of my favorite characters in Peter David's Captain Marvel run (even before they became a lesbians and hooked up). Anyway, this issue is a great setup for Annihilation Conquest, and even if you didn't like the Phalanx from the 90s, you should check out this issue as it breathes new life into them. In fact, this issue is...

BRIAN'S PICK OF THE WEEK<

Captain America #27 CWI: 4 out of 5
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Steve Epting and Mike Perkins
This title really outshines the Fallen Son limited series in dealing with Cap's death thanks to the superb writing efforts of Ed Brubaker. The Winter Soldier targets Tony Stark, and begins by reclaiming Steve Roger's iconic shield from the Black Widow. In a flashback to the days of the Cold War, it is revealed that the two have a history. The Black Widow divines the Winter Soldier's motives and warns Tony. Meanwhile, the Falcon recruits Sharon Carter on behalf of Nick Fury to pursue the rogue Winter Soldier.

Fallen Son Death of Captain America Spider-Man: 3 out of 5
Written by Jeph Loeb
Art by David Finch
This series have been mediocre at best, with the exception of the Captain America issue. Spider-Man grieves over Cap's death, bringing back memories of losing his parents, Uncle Ben, Captain Stacy, and of course Gwen Stacy. He has a rather pointless brawl with the Rhine, who is just there visiting his mother. Their battle is mostly filler as Peter reflects on a similar fight in which he teamed up with Cap to take down the Hulk. Wolverine trails after Peter and tries to cheer him up. You know your in a bad place when you need Wolverine to cheer you up.

Heroes for Hire #11 WWH: 3 out of 5
Written by Zeb Wells
Art by Clay Mann
If you pick up this issue expecting a World War Hulk tie-in, prepare to be disappointed. This issue only tangentially ties-in to that storyline, as the Heroes help with the evacuation of NYC a bit before going off on a "side-quest" invovling some evil bugs from space.

Incredible Hulk #107 WWH: 4 out of 5
Written by Greg Pak
Art by Gary Frank
Amadeus Cho, the seventh smartest person on the planet (as they keep reminding us), gathers human allies for the Hulk, from former Champions Hercules and Angel (although it unclear what Angel's motives for doing so are) to the brother of the late Goliath and average joes. Hulk at first views the puny humans as enemies, but Amadeus tries to reason with him. The Hulk appears to be listening to him, especially when Hercules underscores his point by not fighting back as the Hulk smashes him.

Iron Man #19 WWH: 3 out of 5
Written by Christos Gate
Art by Butch Guice
Christos Gage takes on the task of making the post-Civil War Tony Stark heroic. Iron Man has the potential to be a great character, as evidenced in Civil War: The Confession and Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America - Captain America. Gage builds on that by showing that even though Tony Stark has made many questionable decisions of late, he still has the guts to face the consequences of his own actions.

Moon Knight #11 CWI: 3 out of 5
Written by Charlies Huston
Art by Mico Suayan
As I mentioned last week, I hate the hero-start-in-peril, flash-back-to-how-he-got-there plot device. This issue illustrates just how confusing it can be as three stories happen in a jumbled sequence, further confused by Marc Spector's proclivity towards hallucinations.

X-Men Endangered Species Special: 4 out of 5
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Scot Eaton
Endangered Species kicks off not with a bang, but with a whimper. A throw-away mutant has died, and various members of the X-Men, New X-Men, and X-Factor react to his death and the impending extinction of their species. A well written story, but hardly anything Earth-shattering.

Next Week: Amazons Attack #3, Countdown 44, X-Men #200, and more!

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

SPOILER ALERT!!!

The Good:
-The Fantastic Four are all well performed, and their characters are true to their comic book counterparts. Their interaction is the strength of this movie.
-The Silver Surfer was incredibly well done, both alien yet noble. Lawrence Fishbourne was the perfect choice to do the voice.
-Jessica Alba. 'Nuff said.

The Bad:
-Now I'm not a big time movie producer, but it seems to me that when casting Dr. Doom, a character famous for wearing a mask, you should...oh, I don't know, cast an actor that can act in a mask.
-We've all heard it by now, but Galactus is a freaking cloud in this movie. Which could have worked mind you, but most people were totally confused by his relationship with the Surfer. They should have at least given him a voice or something in the climax to show that he was sentient at least.

The Ugly:
-The Surfer sacrificing himself to save Earth, while noble and fitting for him, hardly belongs in a movie called FANTASTIC FOUR. Why are the heroes standing around while someone else saves the day? Also, it seems strange that the Surfer is powerful enough to stop Galactus all on his own like that. Maybe Reed could have come up with a device to boost/focus the Surfer's power and/or weaken Galactus. Some kind of "ultimate nullifer" perhaps?

BRIAN'S BRAIN: June 13, 2007

SPOILER ALERT!!!

DC COMICS

Countdown 46: 3 out of 5
Written By Paul Dini, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Justin Gray
Art by Jesus Saiz
This week is a transition issue, and not a hell of a whole lot happens here. Mary Marvel takes out a throw-away villain (that, I kid you not, throws dead babies at her), Jimmy follows a lead to a guy who bites it just as he's about to reveal what's going on (shocking, I know) while Holly saves some guy from becoming collatoral damage (at least, I think that's Holly as nobody mentions her name), tension between Piper and Mirror Master continues to build (which while entertaining, is completely unessary). Jason Todd, being trained by the World's Greatest Detective (not to mention Rogue Monitor said as much in Countdown 51), just now figures out that the Monitors killed Deula because she's from another universe, and that he and Donna Troi, both having cheated death) are on also their hitlist. This doesn't sit to well with the Monitors (who are still indistinguishable from one another), who unleash Forerunner, a speedster chick who makes short work of Donna and Jason (who, naturally, is still wearing the Robin mask underneath his hood). And just when things start to get halfway interesting, it ends.

Gen 13 #9: 4 out of 5
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Carlo Barberi
Gail Simone's ability to write great characters carries this book. With a few injokes about comics (like Eddie coming up with about the worst codenames possible for everyone, and yes, the one he comes up with is worse than Grunge) to references to the team being a reboot. They don't really explain what that means, but I would guess that they are copies of the original Gen 13 crew (although that doesn't explain why nobody knows who they are, i.e. the Authority). Plus, Sarah takes Caitlin skiny-dipping before kissing her, and I can never say no to a comic with two hot girls making out, me being a dirty "old" man and whatnot.

Green Arrow #75: 4 out of 5
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Scott Mc Daniel
A great conclusion to the series. The only reason it didn't get a 5 is the rather dues ex machina resolution to the fight with Deathstroke and his little friend whose name I can't recall. Hopefully this series will be restarted after the Black Cannary limited series, in some form or another. Perhaps Green Arrow/Black Cannary is not far away.

Hawkgirl #65: 3 out of 5
Written by Walter Simonson
Art by Renato Arlem
A mediocre issue as this series draws to a close. Note to Walter Simonson: trapping heroins in occupied coffins is not hot. I just hope that wasn't what he was going for. 'Nuff said.

Stormwatch PHD #8: 5 out of 5
Written by Christos Gage
Art by Andy Smith
This is a great series. If you're not reading this, you definately should be. Do whatever is neccessary to get it: take a second job, drop a monthly comic or two, or even special order it if your friendly neighborhood comic store doesn't stock Wildstorm comics. But don't rob any mail trucks to get your hands on it. To repeat, this blogger is NOT encouraging you to rob a mail truck.

MARVEL COMICS

Cable Deadpool #41: 4 out of 5
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Art by Reilly Brown
How can you not love a comic that features a character named Bob, Ageny of Hydra, even if he only appears in the recap page. Cable and Deadpool reconcile their difference and take on an escaped Sabertooth. Unfortunately, the art Domino looks about 15, which makes the romantic tension between her and Cable a bit creepy.

Exile #9: 3 out of 5 Written by Chris Claremont Art by Clayton Henry The Exiles say goodbye to one of their own, and for once it's a happy occasion. The dialogue, however, is absolutely dreadful. Cringe...worthy...dreadful! Case it point, here is an actual quote by Longshot: "That sounds like the kind of thing that's likely to need some serious good luck. Since that's my power, I'll stay, too." There are just no words to describe that level of suckage.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #21: 4 out of 5
Written by Peter David
Art by Todd Nauck
Nobody writes Spider-Man banter better than Peter David (well, except possibly Dan Slott...if only he could get more time with the character somehow). I laughed out loud at the one zinger he said to a beat cop who was trying to arrest him. I don't know why Peter's wearing the black costume here, because his mood doesn't seem any different from before Civil War (would that be a pre-Civil War mentality?). Given the tone of this title, I suppose that the dark Peter attitude would be out of place with this book's humourous style.

Mystic Arcana Magik: 5 out of 5
Written by Louise Simonson
Art by Steve Scott
Yes! Finally, after dreadful characterizations in Exiles and House of M, not to mention New X-Men (see below), somebody finally gets Illyana right. Illyana is bascially a good person who's had to make some tough choices and only embracers her darker nature as a last resort, not someone who uses it a solution to everything. You'd think Louis Simonson wrote the character before or something. Anyway, a great start to Mystic Arcana. I am definately enticed by these series.

New Avengers #31 CWI: 3 out of 5
Written by Brian Bendis
Art by Leinil Yu
Okay, they said the reveal on ths last page of this issue would be like the most signifigant event in the Marvel Universe. And that page is...Jessica Jones feeding her baby. What? Well, I can assume they meant the reveal three pages before that Elektra is actually...a Skrull! Oh my gosh, the Elektra acting horribly out of character wasn't the real Elektra. Shocking, not so much, but Iron Fist freaks out by this revelation, while the rest of us are left scratching our heads. It's not like they found out that Iron Man was a skrull, or that the Skrull's orchestrated the Scarlet Witch going psycho or something, I don't know, that would actually be something BIG! Now, that could be well what happened, but at this point there is nothing to indicate that it did, or in fact that the Skrulls were involved in anything other than the Hand, and even there for we know this could be one rogue Skrull. Judging by the importence Marvel was putting on this issue, I doubt the Skrull thing ends there, but it would be nice if there was something in the actual STORY about this. Plus, Doc Strange gets impaled and goes astral, and seems fine with no further explanation. Oooookay. And the previously near-mute Ronin decides to start prattle on with the witty banter, now that we the reader now know it's really Hawkeye. Well, I suppose I've ranted long enough here.

New X-Men #39: 3 out of 5
Written by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle
Art by Skottie Young
First off, if I were going to do an New X-Men-in-hell story, I might go with an artist with a less Animesque style, but hey, that's just me. I'm not saying that anime art is bad, just that I don't think it fits with this type of story. With Hellion and Surge stuck in the real world, Dave near death and in the care of Elixir, and Dust, Mercury, and X-23 captures (and Rockslide conspiculously absent), it's up to the D-list New X-Men to save the day (you know, Pixie, Blindfold, Anole, and a few others whose names I don't even know; in other words, I the reader have a lot invested in these characters) to save they day. Some demon girl that looks like Illyana, but acts completely different (and treats N'Astirh like a pet dog) arrives and, after dispatching most of the wannabe New X-Men claims to be on their side, but needs one of them to sacrifice themselves so she can summon her Soulsword. Yeah, that sounds like Illyana alright. Also, Belasco throws a tirade about finding Illyana, even though she's like right over the hill or something. Dude, maybe you should look around instead of torturing children who have no clue what you're talking about (you'd think, as the devil or whatever he is, he might be on to the fact that they are being sincere when they repeatedly tell him they don't know where Illyana is). Also, another New X-Men apparently buys the farm again. You know, at the rate this book goes through mutants, the 198 should be down to like 12. Sorry, guess I'm in a ranty mood tonight.

Nova #3 CWI: 4 out of 5
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art by Sean Chen
Richard Rider takes a good look at post-Civil War landscape and basically says f!*% this, I'm going back to space. But not after having a throwdown with the Thunderbolts (who, apparently, didn't get the memo from Tony saying he had a reprieve). He does have a nice scene with Penace/Speedball, but instead of sticking around to help his clearly troubled friend, Nova decides to basically wash his hands of his homeworld. Maybe his father should show more tact before accusing his galaxy-saving son of basically being a supervillain for fighting back against the Thunderbolts when they ATTACKED him.

Punisher: War Journal #8 CWI: 2 out of 5
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Olivetti
First off, they whole start-at-the-end device never works for me, so my review might be somewhat tainted. This arc has also dragged on, and we finally get a glimpse of Hate-Monger vs. Punisher, but it looks like we'll have to wait another month for the actual showdown. Also, can someone explain to me why red-blooded Americans are marching around shouting Hail Hitler? I mean, I know they're bigits and all, but come on, Hitler? This book is getting dangerously close to being dropped. Frank Castle, you're on notice!

World War Hulk: 5 out of 5
Written by Greg Pak
Art by John Romita, Jr.
Wow! What a way to kick off the series. First, Hulk beats down Black Bolt, weathers even his powerful voice and saying "I didn't come here for a whisper. I wanna hear you scream." Awesome. Tony Stark's first response to Hulk's action is to have Doctor Strange magic him into another dimension or something (because the first plan to get Hulk off Earth turned out so well). Doctor Strange wisely points this out to Tony, who then turns to the Sentry. At first, he's all set to go up against his friend, the Hulk, but when he learns what Tony and friends did, he steps out, leaving Tony to dig up his biggest and baddest Hulkbusting armor. He throws everything at tge Hulk, including the nanoprobes which depowered She-Hulk before having a squadron bomb the crap out of him while he's weakened. However, the Hulk is reminded by the events that claimed the lives of his friends and family, and he gets...really...angry. And as we all know, the madder Hulk gets.... Needless to say, Tony Stark finally gets his well-earned comeuppance. Which brings us too...

BRIAN'S PICK OF THE WEEK

Next Week: Countdown 45, Annihilation Conquest Prologue, Falln Son Death of Captain America Spider-Man, X-Men Endangered Species, and more!

BRIAN'S BRAIN: June 6, 2007

SPOILER ALERT!!!

DC COMICS

All New Atom #12: 3 out of 5
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Mike Norton
As someone who is not that familiar with Ray Palmer, particularly his rogue's gallery, I can't give a fair review of this issue. Even in spite of not having a clue who any of the loonies are, this is still a solid issue, due mainly to Gail Simone's writing.

Birds of Prey #107: 4 out of 5
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott
Another great book by Gail Simone. It's a shame she's leaving this title soon, even with Sean McKeever taking over. Let's just hope the return of Ice doesn't get lost in somewhere and is picked up by Sean or elsewhere. And nobody tell the Monitor's that's she's still alive.

Countdown 47: 5 out of 5
Written by Paul Dini and Sean McKeever
Art by Al Barrionuevo
I'm really dig this series, and keep in mind that I'm not a big DC continuity buff. The extra reading time on Wikipedia is well worth following this series. Oh, and Mary spots some hot new threads, which certainly has no influence on my assessment of this issue. Riiiiight. Anyway, we have:

BRIAN'S PICK OF THE WEEK

Outsiders #48: 3 out of 5
Written by Judd Winick and Greg Rucka
Art by Matthew Clark
This title is good, but not great. I mean, it has lesbians in it, how bad can it be, right? However, I can't just justify buying five issues of this title in one-month though, so I'll likely be dropping this title after the current storyline. No, not even for lesbians (did I mention there were lesbians in it? Oh, I did? Nevermind then. Now where, was I, I seemed to have gotten distracted for some reason).

Supergirl #18: 4 out of 5
Written by Joe Kelly
Art by Alé Garza
This issue is pretty much an rebuttal to fan criticisms of the new Supergirl. I just got to say, what's wrong with an oversexed Supergirl? She's fictional, so even though she's underaged, it's not at all creepy. Riiiiight. Anyway, after a shakey start, Joe Kelly turned this title around into a solid title. With Tony Bedard taking over, this title is hit or miss. Linda Danvers is still the best Supergirl though.

Welcome to Tranquility #7: 4 out of 5
What, another Gail Simone comic? Busy week for the Gail Simone fan. This title has a huge cast, and it could take a page from Checkmate and have a who's-who photo gallery up front of every issue. Especially since these are all original characters that never appeared before this series.

MARVEL COMICS

Avengers The Initiative #3 CWI: 4 out of 5
Writen by Dan Slott
Art by Stefano Caselli
This is a strong series, and I can definately see why it was turned from a mini-series into an ongoing title. Another instance of Dan Slott writing Spider-Man. Will he be taking over writing duties for web-head? That would certainly be amazing, spectacular, and friendly-neighborhood...er wait, that last one don't quiet work with this joke. Foiled again!

Iron Man #18 CWI: 1 out of 5
Writen by Daniel Knauf and Charles Knauf
Art by Roberto de la Torre
For a title featuring the most controversial and conflicted Marvel character, this latest arc has been a snooze. So in the aftermath of Civil War and the recent deaths of not one but TWO of his closest friends (i.e. Captain America and Happy Hogan), what happens? Pretty much a cookie-cutter espionage story. I might pick up the World War Hulk tie-in issues, but only since they are written by Christos Gage. And even then its only a might.

Loners #3: 4 out of 5
Writen by C. B. Cebulski
Art by Karl Moline
Dear Marvel, please pick this title up as an ongoing. 'Nuff said.

Ms. Marvel #16 CWI: 4 out of 5
Writen by Brian Reed
Art by Aaron Lopresti
I'm not crazy about the idea of Ms. Marvel getting her own mini-SHIELD, but we get Wonder Man as part of the deal, so I'll put up with it. How can you not love a title where the villain is a giant head that mind controlls Carol's love interest into fighting her. Plus not only does Carol give Simon some sugar to return him to his senses, but her publist is running interference against his rival for Carol's heart. It's good to an ionic-entity-returned-from-the dead. Oh, and did I mention there's a big giant head in it? Brian Reed is definately a writer to watch at Marvel.

New Warriors #1 CWI: 4 out of 5
Writen by Kevin Grevioux
Art by Paco Medina
A promising first issue. Sophia (aka Winddancer from New X-Men) and Barnell (aka Beak from the other New X-Men; Marvel needs to get more creative with naming their title before we end up with Really New Avengers, and given Marvel's propencity to slap a "New" on every title they can, I wonder how many people will be looking for "Warriors" in the back issue bin). And who is that at the end? Was that Night Trasher? Well if he survived, and Speedball survived, could Namorita survived as well? At this rate, Marvel will bring back the 600 school children that died in the Stanford incident by the end of the year.

Omega Flight #3 CWI: 0 out of 5
Writen by Michael Oeming
Art by Scott Kolins
This is a weak series, and I can definately see why it was turned from an ongoing title to a mini-series. It's a reverse Avengers The Initiative, proving that Newton's third law holds in the world of comics (for those who are physic buffs, that's the one that says for every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction). Actually, I take back my original statement. I'm quite mystified how this series even got published. I'm an obsessive completionist, and even I will not be picking up the rest of the series. It's just that bad.

Uncanny X-Men #487: 4 out of 5
Writen by Ed Brubaker
Art by Salvador Larroca
Ed Brubaker redeems himself after a horrid year-long arc. Let's just hope he keeps it up and doesn't reserrect the original Thunderbird or anyone else. I'll wonder if he'll address why Masque appeared as a hot chick last time we saw him (in X-treme X-Men by a little known writed by name of Chris Claremont). Maybe he was in a bad movie with Rob Schneider?

Next Week: Countdown 46, Green Arrow #75, New Avengers #31 World War Hulk #1, and more!