Tim’s reviews:

Green Lantern Corps #40

I’m still enjoying “Blackest Night” and the emotional conflicts it is dredging up. There is so much going on in Peter Tomasi’s Green Lantern Corps, there has got to be something in here for everyone. There are tons of characters getting face time in this, I’m really impressed at how Tomasi is juggling this huge cast and still giving characters a chance to shine.

Patrick Gleason rocks this issue, as he always does. His take on Jade looks great, she’s still sort of attractive even in her evil Black Lantern suit. I also never thought I’d be sad to see Bzzd come back, but I missed that little guy.
Grade: B+

Dark Reign: The List: Avengers #1

Bendis promised a big development with Clint Barton/Hawkeye/Ronin. I naturally figured Clint might end up as Hawkeye again. So I picked up this issue.

Mistake.

I hate Bendis’ take on Clint Barton. Clint spends the issue rambling on with an ill-formed plan about how killing Osborn is the best option. In this he’s whiny, sneaky, and pouty. This character bears so little resemblance to the Hawkeye I like that I was actually cheering for Ares at the end of the issue. Hell, Clint brings along a bunch of guns and shoots Bullseye! Why bother having this be Hawkeye? This could be any generic gun-toting doofball. All the traits I liked about Hawkeye are gone, so really, I suppose I have to admit I don’t like the character.

Marko Djurdjevic does a nice job on the art, actually elevating the content with his pencils. I liked his take on Mockingbird’s new costume especially. I bet he would have done a bang-up job on the real Hawkeye suit, don’t you think?
Grade: D+

War of Kings: Who Will Rule?

Gladiator is a pimp. His mourning costume (all black) makes him look bad-ass, I’m so pleased he’s getting such a big role in cosmic Marvel. DnA plant some seeds for the upcoming “Realm of Kings” storyline; the neatest bits show that Gladiator’s main advisor is in fact a disguised Talon, who will be working against the altruistic nature of the new Shi’ar praetor. Magus and the rift in space time will be a central location for both the Kree and Inhumans moving forward. I also like that Crystal and Ronan the Accuser’s relationship could continue to develop too, based on how Crystal reacts to Polaris’ teasing.

I can’t recommend cosmic Marvel highly enough. DnA’s cohesive vision have made this entire branch of the Marvel U an integrated, intriguing place where anything can happen, yet the stories still retain a “classic” feel. Heck, the Imperial Guard and Gladiator are an “homage” to the Legion of Super-Heroes and Superboy, yet I’m digging the Marvel version more than DC these days.
Grade: B+

Secret Six #13

Gail Simone’s prison story is a lot of fun, but I’m not sure I totally understand where it’s going. Slowly but surely, the entire Six is betraying their contract and switching over to the good guys’ side. There is plenty of violence here, including a great confrontation where Scandal offers some prison guards time to pray or contact their loved ones, but not do both. In a neat twist of that smack-talk, some of the guards actually take her up on it. Having a guard call his wife before he’s gutted by Scandal was a great reminder that all these flunkies are people with families. Simone gives some resonance to a flunky’s death that I never would have imagined.

The Grendel/Devil we saw last issue gets released at the end of the issue, but I’m not sure how scared I should be of this guy. Is he an existing DC character? Is he new? Is he supposed to be the actual Devil? I’m sure the upcoming fight with this guy and Wonder Woman will be good. With Simone being so skilled at balancing her cast, I’m sure the fight with the prison bosses versus the Six will be satisfying too.

Nicola Scott does a nice job with the current action, as always, but she gets some neat flashbacks in this one too. The glimpse into Scandal’s childhood is upsetting too, where we see her 9-year old self beaten by thugs before Vandal Savage gives her the wrist-blades she uses so well.

Grade: B

Randy’s reviews:

Ultimate Comics Avengers #2

Millar picks up with the Red Skull storyline where he left us off last month, giving us a look at how the “ultimate” Red Skull came to be and setting up for where this new chapter in the Ultimate Avengers is going to take us. As I’ve said before, I’ve never been a huge fan of Mark Millar. Aside from his Ultimate Universe work I’ve always felt that his stuff was rather over-hyped and often ridiculous. However, there’s something about the Ultimate Universe that just brings out the best in Millar. If he wrote this well in everything he did I’d be a fan. This new storyline is just as good (and has the potential to be better) than his previous runs thus far and I’m really excited to see where this story goes. It was so entertaining that I didn’t even flinch when they mentioned Wolverine’s death in Ultimatum. Now that’s saying something! I know this review is a bit sparse on information, but I’m a big believer in not giving too much away in reviews. After all, the point is to let you know if it’s worth spending your hard-earned money on. The answer is a resounding “yes”.
Grade: A

Green Lantern Corps #40

Wow. That’s really all I can say about this issue. For me it’s the best issue of the entire “Blackest Night” event so far. Kyle faces his long lost love, then opens up a can, only to have it dealt back ten-fold. He’s learning first-hand the old addage about a woman scorned…especially a dead super-zombie woman. Salaak opens up a verbal can of his own on the Alpha Lanterns and puts them in their place, to which I reply: it’s about time! And Guy get’s to live out his Karate Kid fantasy. All in all a most excellent issue and the best addition of Blackest Night to date.
Grade: A+

Nick’s reviews:

Blackest Night: Batman #2

I really enjoyed the ride in this issue of “Blackest Night”. It’s fun to see Robin, Batman, and Red Robin going all “Dawn of the Dead” on the risen corpses of Gotham and Bludhaven villains. The last two issues have been very evil-zombie centric, so I am wondering how they are going to ease their way into having the Dynamic … Trio fighting their lost family members. All in all, I had fun in this issue, but I am wondering if there will be any revelations about “Blackest Night” to make this spin-off worthwhile.

Most Balls-y Moment: Batman sticks his flamethrower into a zombie’s mouth and flame spurts out of it’s eye sockets.
Grade: C+

Dead Space: Extraction

Ah, cash-ins. Dead Space: Extraction fulfills what my worst fears about the comic would be: a shallow, purposeless extension of the Dead Space canon. If you have not played Dead Space, do yourself a favor and skip this “prologue” that does nothing to intensify any feeling for any of the characters in the game whatsoever. The art is ok in this, but does not make up for the lack of content.

Most Balls-y Moment: Line Gun.
Grade: D

Sean’s reviews:

Blackest Night: Batman #2

The sophomore issue of this series is neither as fun nor as tense as the previous one. The story suspended last month with Dick and Tim’s parents being jettisoned out of their respective graves, but they don’t reappear until the end of this month’s issue. That’s 20-some pages of the uninteresting dead making life tough for the Batman family. Also, I expect Batman to live by his wits: gather information, look at the clues and then turn the results into a plan. And I get that Dick is new to the Cowl, but turning to flamethrowers to fight the Black Lanterns is based on… his in-depth knowledge of the work of George Romero? A distaste for guns (which is six-in-one-half-dozen-the-other in terms of fighting the dead)? Or something else? Whatever the case may be, the plot stalls this month with stories best left untold.
Grade: C

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus (Conclusion)

Scott’s plan to save mutantkind comes out without a hitch (except for maybe some unexpected damage to Emma and Hank), but Norman Osborne claims the victory for his side (even though the world saw him and his X-Avengers flee the scene). Still, there’s something a little unsatisfying about “the end” (the story actually continues next month in The Confession and The List). Scott never seemed worried about how it would all turn out which means I was never worried about it either. Considering how Part One was so desperate in its cries for Justice and Order (not the same thing at all), I was let down that the best the X-Men could do was leave the country. However, I can also see that having Utopia be its own country could lead to some good stories in the future. My favorite part of the issue was seeing the New Mutants back together (with a newly-powered Danielle Moonstar!) and kicking butt.
Grade: B

Kick Ass #7

The volume was about a 9, all things considered. However, since there’s one issue left to go (seriously, I thought this was the last issue!), Millar can still bring his A-approaching-Infinity game.
Grade: B+