Shipping This Week! - 05.01.12

Oooh, the Gotham Central arc is really good so far, Bru has Josie Mac and Catwoman teaming up to clear Selina's name of a murder and keep Josie's secret (that she's got superpowers) a secret!
Great stuff!
I wish Detective was weekly for the current arc.

AQUAMAN #26
FABLES #33
GREEN ARROW #46
WANTED #6
MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #14
MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #10
PULSE #7
SHE HULK #11
THE PUNISHER #16
ULTIMATES 2 #2

Kind of a light week (particularly since I don't think I've actually been getting Pulse for the past few months, and haven't missed it - seems badly written for a sequel of sorts to the astonishing Alias). Still, at least it's the final issue of Wanted (I might need to dig out the previous 5 to refresh my memory though).

I hope She-Hulk is better this month.

I quite liked the stand-alone issue, but it's beginning to look like a title which is winding up, I agree.

Has a date been confirmed for the relaunch yet?

Which stand-alone issue? I meant the Titiana origin recap issue.

Yeah, that's the one.

Okay. It wasn't BAD in any sense of the word, but it felt like, oh jeez, there's only a few more issues left and they're spending a whole one telling us why Titiana hates Shulkie?

But Dan Slott is rumoured to be doing an arc on JLA after Busiek's almost really good Crime Syndicate story wraps up.

Paul Smith is only doing the cover of the Spidey/Torch, TY TEMPLETON (a canadian!) is doing the insides. I might read this. I haven't bought a Spider-Man comic since, um, since he had COSMIC POWERS!!!

Awww someone tell me when Operation: Saddlebags (urk!) is getting solicited!!

WHERE WAS WANTED#6? Can anyone confirm it came out?

AQUAMAN #26

Erm... WTF? This storyline is either going to be really good, or unbelievably shite. I suspect the latter.

FABLES #33

This issue reads like a filler, although after the BIG PLOTS recently it's actually a quite nice change of pace. And has a few 'awwwwwwwwwwwwwww' moments. Bigby's Dad seems like a potentially interesting character, I hope he stays for a bit.

GREEN ARROW #46

Back in the saddle after the MIA HAS TEH BAD AIDS plot, Mia still has TEH BAD AIDS but Ollie persuades her to try out for the Titans (because that's what Speedys do). It's a lot of fun as a standalone, and is probably the best issue in about a year.

MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #14

The Alicia/Puppet Master story plays out, in slightly predictable fashion. Probably the worst issue of this book so far, but still better than a lot of the Marvel output.

MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #10

Did this even come out? I remember nothing about this at all.

PULSE #7

BMB doing sterling work for Marvel, putting the same book out twice with only minor changes. This adds very little if you're reading Secret Wars, except that Fury is nobbling the press and Jessica can't find out where Luke is.

SHE HULK #11

The Titania storyline is reaching a conclusion, which I guess means the next issue is the last before the hiatus/relaunch. It's good though, as all the plots from the last 6 months come together for a KNOCK'EM DOWN ALL VIOLENCE FINALE! Yay!

THE PUNISHER #16

The Russian plot seems to be slightly overstretched here, and the weaknesses in it are exposed. Halfway great, halfway shite.

ULTIMATES 2 #2

Basically one great Cap/Thor scene featuring a discussion in a nightclub over who leaked Bruce Banner's name to the press - he's to be tried over the deaths in the last Hulk rampage (and found guilty and executed). I fully expect HULK SMASHING ACTION very soon.

JSA: borrrring. All the characters ponce around in the past and think deep thoughts about their predecessors. Stargirl is beaten in a fight by 3 rubbish medical orderlies. Call yourself a superhero, tsk!

FLASH: back to it's old grooviness after long period of "meh". Linda is back, Rogue war is picking up and OMG! They stole Captain Boomerang's brain! (or something)

Yeah, agree with you on JSA. Basically the same thing that we saw in JSA: All Stars last year. "Look, they're both Mr. Terrific but they're different, but they're the same. But they're different!"
I mean, come on, last issue was a terrific Geoff Johns tension-cranker, and then this one was a typical Geoff Johns momentum-loser. That means next issue will be r-a-d. Maybe. I totally forgot I'd even read it when I was going through my pile last night (and I got a pile!).

Green Arrow: Agree with Aldo that this is the best issue in a while. Though, if the City Walls and New Blood arcs had been four issues instead of six, it might not've been. I had reservations about Tom Fowler's art at first, but by the end of the issue I think I "got" it, and liked it. I think he needs to tighten it up a bit, but if Hester & Parks had to leave, I'm glad they were replaced by someone completely different like this.

Spider-Man/Human Torch: As a non-Marvel reader, I totally dug the hell out of this. This is the Spider-Man I know (from the 60s cartoons) and this is the kind of comic book I read as a kid. Dorky as all hell, but even more fun.

JLA: Speaking of slow moving arcs. Y-a-w-n. Back in the old days, this whole saga could have been told between one set of covers with room for a Global Guardians back-up.

still to read:
Nightwing
She-Hulk
Gotham Central
and something else???

oh, and I picked up the first Queen & Country trade. If it's not good, I'm going to hunt all of you down and feed a few pages to each of you.

PRAISE CANADA! Due to the low dollar/something to do with economics I don't understand, the Silver Snail in Toronto is selling all its comics at the US cover price, in Canadian dollars. Which means finally I can buy the suckers instead of reading them in the store.

Excellent hair joke at the end of Human torch, but a little too silly for me, and horrid lettering.

Has anyone been reading Millar's Wolverine? It's suprisingly fun, a bit Garth Ennis-y even, in a good way.

Nightwing - Blah. While I normally enjoy Dick Grayson's angst, I totally wasn't into this. I'm not a fan of the art, and what the hell was going on with Clayface?

She-Hulk - She-Hulk (gets) SMASH(ed)! What happened to Mallory Book?

Gotham Central - I didn't mind Jason Alexander's (is that the most common name in the whole world these days?) art last issue, but this time it really bugged me. I miss Michael Lark already. Alexander's stuff reminds me of substandard Steve Pugh trying to be Tim Sale.

Mallory Book got smashed? In fact, Mallory Book got SMASHed! What I am wondering about (what with the imminent end/start of the series) is the possibility of a first-series-of-Friends thing where Jen realises Pud(Pug?) has the hots for her at the same time that Pud realises that he actually has feelings for Mallory.

It is the least terrifying cliffhanger in the world, though. What can stop Titania's desire to kill She-Hulk, apart from the lack of She-Hulk to kill?

Another great Slott moment: why superspeedsters get paid higher danger money than anyone else.

Yeah, that's what I meant...will Mallory survive to balk at Jenn Walters? Will Jenn Walters survive to feel comfortable in her own skin? Will the relaunch be worth the wait?