Ultimate Spider-Man #132

As Marvel's Ultimate Universe continues its slow stagger toward oblivion (or whatever happens to it after the Ultimatum series is finished), it's nice to know there's one bright spot in the proceedings.

Ultimate Spider-Man has been the class act of the bunch since the beginning - consistently very good and often the best comic of the month.

Under the hand of writer Brian Bendis and a few different artists - most recently the excellent Stuart Immonen - this comic has explored the joys and pains of adolescence, the heroism of a young man driven to do the right thing, a sweet love affair (or two), fun and interesting characters and some amazing adventures. In other words, it's been everything a Spider-Man comic should be.

The latest (and next-to-the-last) issue finds Spider-Man trying to save lives in a New York City devastated by a massive flood. He's "teaming up" (and I use the phrase loosely) with the Hulk, which is kind of a hit-and-miss proposition.

Together they're trying to stem the tide of monsters pouring out of Dr. Strange's home, which was also smashed in the disaster.

It's yet another excellent story in the series, with a bit of a horror twist that works really well.

If only the Ultimatum series were half as good as this one...

Grade: A-

Comics for a Wednesday

Here's the weekly report on the comics picked up by your pal Chuck:

- Black Panther #4 - Interesting that, other than the cover, we've not seen the female Black Panther in the Panther costume.

- Booster Gold #20 - More time-traveling fun.

- Green Lantern Corps #36 - Big battle issue!

- Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commados #1 (One Shot) - Speaking of battles...

- Secret Warriors #4 - Speaking of the Howlers...

- Trinity #50 - Two to go!

- Ultimate Spider-Man #132 - One to go (sorta)!

- The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #6 - Zero to go!

- The Unwritten #1 - For a buck, I figured, what the heck.

- Wonderful Wizard of Oz #6 (of 8) - One can only hope that they'll adapt the other Oz books as well.

And I picked up Alter Ego #85 - Superman vs. Capt. Marvel!

The Classics: The Destructor #1

Comic books stories about characters seeking revenge are pretty common, and that's the tale at the heart of today's "classic" comic - The Destructor.

But it's also the motivation behind Atlas Comics, the company that launched at the same time as this title - the cover date is February 1975.

Atlas was created by Marvel's founding father, Martin Goodman, shortly after he sold Marvel Comics. According to the story, part of the agreement for the sale was that Goodman's son Chip would be retained with the "new" Marvel - but the new owners fired him.

Seeking revenge, Martin Goodman set his son up with a brand-new comics company, using Marvel's former company name, Atlas. He also hired some of the industry's best talent to create those comics, including Howard Chaykin, Larry Hama, Micheal Fleisher, Ernie Colon, Al Milgrom and Mike Sekowsky.

This issue boasts the top creative team at the new company - writer Archie Goodwin, penciler Steve Ditko and inker Wally Wood.

The Destructor focuses on a young hood named Jay Hunter, whose inventor father is shot down along with his son during a gang hit. Jay's father survives long enough to give his son an experimental treatment that hones his strength and natural abilities to their peak.

Jay, natch, swears he'll get revenge on the gang that killed his father. It may sound like any other comics origin, but in the hands of these three giants of the industry, the quest for vengeance has rarely been better.

The Atlas line of comics didn't enjoy the same success as our hero does in this issue. After appearing on the scene in an explosion of more than 20 color comics - many of them quite good - within a few months the entire line had fallen apart.

The last month or so were particularly sad, as virtually every issue was completely changed in a desperate attempt to gain readers. For whatever reason, the Atlas line went away, never to be seen again, except in the discount boxes - but a few of those comics are well worth seeking out, including this one and the first two issues of Wulf the Barbarian and The Scorpion.

But for the Goodmans, revenge was apparently a dish that went cold quickly.

Grade: B+

Astro City: The Dark Age: Book Three #1 (of 4)

Welcome back to the stands our good friends from Astro City!

Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson are talented creators in their own right, but together they've turned in their best work on this long-running series (although it's been a bit erractic in its publishing schedule).

After a bit of a hiatus, it's good to see this comic back, as it begins the third part of the Dark Age story, which focuses on two brothers who lost their parents in an encounter between superheroes and supervillains. The brothers have spent their lives trying to track down the man responsible, and they're getting close to their goal.

It's an interesting look at the changes in how superheroes were perceived in the 1980s, and along the way we see the birth of a "new" hero.

My only criticism of the issue, actually, is for the cover - a surprisingly average job by the usually-infallible Alex Ross, it offers an odd angle on Cleopatra. Its biggest sin is that it plays the "hide the title" game - the Astro City: Dark Ages is almost impossible to read. I almost missed this comic on the stands as a result.

This issue might be a little difficult for a new reader to dive into, since it's the third chapter in the story - but it's well worth picking up those collections to get up to speed.

It's also good to hear that future issues in this story will arrive on schedule. It's great to have Busiek and Anderson - and Astro City - back on tour again!

Grade: B+

Power Girl #1

Power Girl is yet another in a long line of DC heroines who has a confusing back story (along with Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Supergirl, Batgirl, the original Wonder Girl and the new Wonder Girl).

She was originally created to be the Earth-2 version of Superman's cousin Kara (Supergirl), but under Wally Wood's skillful pen, she was rendered in a much more, uh, pneumatic style than Supergirl ever was (not that I'm complaining).

Then the Crisis on Infinite Earths hit, and Earth-2 was written off - but no one had the heart to get rid of Power Girl, so her origin changed, and she became related to the magician Arion of Atlantis and... well, it never made much sense.

Finally, in a recent mini-series by Geoff Johns, it was explained that she was really... Superman's cousin from the Krypton of Earth-2, and an anomaly on our world who somehow survived the Crisis. It was as good an explanation as any.

So now, finally, Power Girl has her own ongoing series, and it's been placed in the creative hands of writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti. They turn in a solid effort here, as they sorta kinda recap her origin and set her up with a new life in New York.

That gets interrupted during an attack by a bunch of aliens that seem to have stepped right out of the (excellent) Bioshock game. It's a fast-paced issue that's rolling out on a big stage - it's all very encouraging!

But the real star of the issue is the artwork by Amanda Conner, who I've raved about before. Her style is fresh, fun and energetic, and she handles the big action sequences and the quiet personal moments with equal skill. She's one of the best artists working in the field today, and personally, I'll follow her on any book. And her style is perfect for this kind of superhero adventure, as she adds loads of personality to each page.

It's great to see this book being handled by a team that seems to have a clear vision of who Power Girl is, and where she's going. The character has needed that for decades.

Grade: A-

New Links!

Hey, it's been a while since I updated the links over there in the right-hand column.

Here are the sites I've added (they were all nice enough to link to this site - it's only fair to return the favor):

* Comic Book Critics - This site gathers reviews from around the web and posts the average score for each issue. Great idea!

* Comic Related - a cool news site with lots of features about comic books and related stuff.

* Five Tunes - not comics related, but a fun site that lets you listen to new music and learn about some up-and-coming bands.

* Misconceiving Moments - a blog site that talks about all kinds of pop culture-type topics, but mostly it's about comics.

* Speed Force - lots of information and blogging about all things Flash-related!

* Steve Canyon - a daily reprint of one of the all-time greatest comic strips.

Chuck says check 'em out! (But don't forget to come back and visit us, too!)

Irredeemable #2

This title is getting strong word of mouth, so despite missing the first issue, I decided to give Irredeemable a try.

There are lots of reasons to like it. It's written by Mark Waid, who always turns in good work. The art is by Peter Krause, who does outstanding work here, with excellent characterization, some strong action shots and a great touch with quieter moments.

The plot is unusual for comics - it's about a powerful superhero who turns on humanity. The Plutonian is a hero obviously based on Superman, and in this issue we see other heroes working to find a way to stop his destructive rampage.

The only flaw with this comic is that it's a bit too obvious in its take on the Silver Age Superman - the parallels are evident, though of course there are some clever twists along the way.

Waid has covered the "bad guy as the central character" ground to better effect in Empire, but this story is still in its early stages, so we'll see where it goes from here.

So far, it's not bad - but the story needs to catch up to the art.

Grade: B

Free Comic Book Day - Blackest Night, Avengers and Shatner Presents

OK, your ol' pal Chuck dropped the ball on Free Comic Book Day - but he'll try to make it up to you with a week-late bonus review of three Free Comics:

- The Avengers is almost a mini-comic - it's about an inch smaller than a regular-sized comic - but it's packed with a fun team-up (of sorts) between the New Avengers and the Dark Avengers.

Written by Brian Bendis with art by Jim Cheung, the story begins with Thor hurtling to the Earth, beaten by a monstrous opponent.

The story that follows is somewhat slim, but features the usual sharp dialogue and a fun story.

It's kind of a sidebar to the regular stories unfolding during the Dark Reign, but it's not bad, and worth reading.

Grade: B

- Blackest Night #0 may be the standout of the freebies. It features great art and story, and offers a solid set-up for this summer's Blackest Night story.

It's safe to say that several of the dead characters who will rise in that series are mentioned here, as two guys who know about rising from the dead - Hal (Green Lantern) Jordan and Barry (The Flash) Allen - talk about friends who have passed.

The issue also features a recap of the other colorful Corps out there, and it has an illuminating essay by Geoff Johns, which I enjoyed a lot. Recommended!

Grade: A-

- William Shatner Presents offers a preview of three different comics that feature stories by you-know-who, including The Tek War Chronicles, Man O' War and Quest for Tomorrow.

I really wanted to like these comics, because I'm a Shatner fan - but the fact is, these samples are just average at best. A few pages of story isn't enough to give the reader a good basis to judge the concept, and the art ranges from good to average to much less than average.

This comic is really just for the hard-core fans of Shatner.

Grade: C-

New Mutants #1

I always liked the idea of Professor Xavier's Academy being a "School for Gifted Students."

It set the X-Men apart from other team books, and established the same idea that the Harry Potter books used to such great effect. Not that I'm suggesting J.K. Rowling stole the idea from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby - I'm sure the idea predates the original X-Men. (Right?)

At any rate, the original X-Men comic moved away from the idea early on, and many years later it was revived in the New Mutants comic, which told the story of a new group of young mutants who needed to be trained in the use of their powers. That comic enjoyed a long run and featured quite a few excellent stories - and a few stinkers.

So now that team is back, and the focus seems to be on "getting the band back together" - and that's fine, although there's some continuity sludge to be dealt with before the creative team can get around to telling their own stories.

This issue features a dramatic return by Magik, who's fresh from the X-Infernus series. She brings a warning for her old teammates, and they go in search of the rest of the team.

I've long since lost track of the original team members, although I remember that the shapeshifting alien Warlock and his friend Doug Ramsey were both killed at some point. But the creative team is on track to reintroduce us to the team members, so all these mysteries should be cleared up soon.

The writer on this comic is Zeb Walls, and he does a solid job of reintroducing the leads and laying clues to future events.

The art is by Diogenes Neves, with Cam Smith and Ed Tadeo inking, and it's quite good. I'd like to see some more variety in panel composition - there are too many medium-range shots. I'd like to see more dramatic shots like Magik's reappearance or the first shot of the team in their new uniforms. But those are minor quibbles.

For now, the book is off to something of a slow start, but the foundation is there for bigger and better things ahead. Here's hoping.

Grade: B-

The Flash Rebirth #2

While there seem to be quite a few fans who are mourning the "demotion" of Wally West, allow me to say how thrilled I am to have Barry Allen back from the comic book graveyard.

He was the Flash I grew up with, and I'm glad to have him back in his red-and-yellow uniform.

This issue finds Barry continuing to try to adjust to the modern world, and writer Geoff Johns provides a clever excuse for Barry's absence all these years (although I thought his identity was revealed to the world before he "died." Perhaps I'm misremembering).

As always, Ethan Van Sciver's art is terrific, and I like his method of visualizing super speed, as lightning crackles around the Flash. The artwork is detailed, but provides clean storytelling.

It's difficult to say much more without giving away the plot, but a mystery continues to gather around Barry as his return seems to be causing major problems for the super-speedsters of the world, including family and friends.

This series continues to build slowly (which is a bit ironic, I suppose), but I'm anxious to see where it's all going.

Grade: A-

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 1910

This graphic novel, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 1910, is another chapter in the adventures of the Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill-created team.

Like the preceding chapters, this edition is packed full of references to fictional characters, songs, historical incidents, prophecies and stories of all shapes and sizes.

It's stunning in its density, and capturing all the references herein would be a scholarly undertaking.

But that's not to say this book is in any way dull or boring. Rather, it works on many levels. At its base, it's a snapping good tale of a strongheaded girl who learns a tragic lesson and takes a terrible revenge; and of the remnants of a team assembled to deal with the problems normal men (and women) cannot.

But there's much more at work here. It brings the story into the 20th Century, as the world begins to change and dark forces move into play. This is Moore at his best, telling a complex story with incredible skill.

The LoEG stories also owe a lot to artist O'Neill. His style is unique and fascinating, loaded with detail, events and in-jokes, and he brings the time period to life. His art is somewhat unconventional (that's a good thing) - sometimes cartoony, sometimes realistic - but always in service of telling a great story.

If you've never read a LoEG book, this would be like jumping into the deep end of the pool - but it's a rewarding experience.

There's some violent material and adult situations in this book, so I can't recommend it for young readers, but if you're looking for a graphic novel that will challenge you while it entertains, there are few (if any) better books out there.

Grade: A

Today's Comics

Today your pal Chuck picked up:

- Agents of Atlas #4 - Still not up to the mini-series, but getting there.

- Astro City: Dark Age: Book Three #1 (of 4) - So glad to see this series back.

- New Avengers: The Reunion #3 (of 4) - This has been pretty good so far.

- FarScape: Strange Detractors #2 (of 4) - Also good.

- Flash Rebirth #2 - I'm so happy to see Barry Allen back! I know, I'm a geek.

- Human Torch Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1 (One Shot) - Hey, it really is his 70th Anniversary!

- Invincible Iron Man #13 - Pepper Potts is... Iron Woman!

- Irredeemable #2 - It's been getting great reviews, and it's written by Mark Waid, so I thought I'd check it out.

- Kull #6 (of 6) - Say it with me: Ka Nama Kaa Lajerama!

- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 1910 - This and Astro City in the same month - it's like Christmas!

- New Mutants #1 - Nice to see this comic back again.

- Power Girl #1 - To quote "The Critic" - Hatchi Matchi!

- Amazing Spider-Man #593 - That is one terrible cover.

- Superman - World of New Krypton #3 (of 12) - So far, I'm just not feelin it.

- Trinity #49 - It's the end of the world as we know it.

- The Warlord #2 - Putting the band back together.

As for Free Comic Book Day (four days late), I got:

- The Avengers, Blackest Night #0, and, in honor of Star Trek's release, William Shatner Presents!

I...just...KNOW...it...will...be...GREAT! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

The Classics - Wonder Woman #203

By popular demand (well, one reader asked - that's popular enough for me!), here's a review of an issue of the "New" Wonder Woman - this one is dated November - December 1972.

I picked up this issue not long ago at a convention for $2.50 - it's always great to find an old comic that costs less than today's comics (though admittedly that's a jump from the original cover price of 20 cents).

At this point in Wonder Woman's career, she had been changed from superhero to a non-powered adventuress - basically, she was Mrs. Peel (from the TV show The Avengers - no relation to the Marvel comic).

I picked it up mostly because I thought the cover was funny - above the title is a banner that proclaims this to be a "Special Women's Lib Issue" - and the bondage cover features a helpless blonde. Mixed messages, anyone?

I was surprised to realize the author of the issue was Samuel R. Delany, who had already made his name as a science fiction writer.

The story is something of a time capsule, focusing on Women's Liberation - an issue that was heating up at the time, and still exists today, though I'd like to think some progress has been made. The issue is a "small" adventure, with no costumed supervillains to deal with.

Instead, Diana Prince finds herself dealing with man's condescending behavior towards women - from "fresh" guys ogling her as she walks down the street to a businessman who hopes to take advantage of the "new" women's lib movement, and tries to exploit Diana and her image for his benefit.

Of course, there are several real fights along the way, and Diana gets to demonstrate her (relatively new) mastery of the martial arts (though her sensei, I Ching, is nowhere to be seen).

It's a "small" story, but an effective one. It's dated, of course, but it still has a message for today's audience.

The art for the issue is provided by the always-excellent Dick Giordano, and while he's always had a great reputation as an inker, this issue shows he's also among the best when it comes to penciling. Outstanding work, and he brings a realistic edge that the story needs. His fight scenes are also believable and efficient.

This was an amazing period for the Amazon Princess. It's not so rare today for characters to undergo some degree of "remodeling" - a new costume, new supporting cast, change in location, deals with the devil - they're all the norm these days, but in the '70s it was extremely rare.

I don't know if the move was made in desperation, or if it was just a spark of inspiration, but the idea of changing Wonder Woman's costume (and dressing her in glamourous fashions of the day), making her a normal woman (albeit one with incredible martial arts skills) and doing away with her supporting cast and putting her in a brand new setting - well, it was a courageous stunt.

The character was almost completely cut off from the DC Universe - I think she appeared in Brave and the Bold a couple of times, and in Justice League of America once - but otherwise, she didn't interact with the regular DC heroes.

Ultimately, it didn't work, and not long after this issue she was back in her red, blue and gold swimsuit (and repowered, of course), but for a while there, her comic was about a "real" woman, and not a mythological Amazon mish-mash.

It was fun while it lasted!

Grade: B

Dark Reign: The Cabal #1

It's difficult to write a good villain.

A good villain is one who's interesting, intelligent and driven. You can scarcely take your eye off them, because you can't wait to see what they do next. They can be somewhat sympathetic because of the events that made them into a villain, but you should never actually sympathize with them. But it's ok to understand what makes them the way they are.

So that's what this issue is all about - five interesting, driven villains (though at least two of them should be categorized as "hero / villains") and what makes them tick. And in Dark Reign: The Cabal, you get a look inside the mind of each member of that group.

So we see what dark plans Dr. Doom dreams about. You get a glimpse at the survival instincts of Emma Frost. A dark secret hidden under The Hood. The Sub-Mariner makes a fateful decision. And Loki sits down to a poisonous dinner.

The stories (each by a different writer) are all well-written and the art (each by a different artist) is quite good - dark and moody.

But even though all the pieces are well done, this isn't a comic for everyone. If you haven't been following the Dark Reign storyline, you probably won't care about the machinations of the five members of the Cabal.

However, if you're a fan of that series, then you'll probably want to pick this up for an interesting glimpse between the lines.

Or, as Stan Lee would say: "Bring on the Bad Guys!"

Grade: B-

Free Comic Book Day Reviews

Our man Kyle sent in his reviews of some of the freebies available on Free Comic Book Day, and with his permission I'll share his comments with you.

He writes:

Here's my attempt at some brief spoiler-free comments on what I picked up for FCBD...

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Dark Horse) - I liked the Clone Wars story, probably not enough to pick up the comics but enough to make me want to rent the movie.

Usagi Yojimbo was excellent as usual.

Emily the Strange was totally not my thing, I didn't like the artwork at all, and after getting through half of the second page I realized I liked the story even less and didn't even bother to finish, BLEH...

I thought Beanworld was okay, back in the Eclipse days, I was was a huge Airboy and Scout fan but never got into Beanworld.

Indiana Jones was nothing special, maybe I was expecting more when I saw Mark Evanier's name as the writer...

Wolverine (Marvel): I enjoyed this more than I thought I would... I must not have been paying attention at the beginning because the last two pages totally surprised me! I had to go back and, re-read the first two pages and yup, totally should have seen that coming. It was a good all ages Marvel Adventures-style story.

DC Kids Mega Sampler (DC): The Billy Batson and Magic of Shazam was a reprint of first issue, so nothing new there. The Batman Brave and Bold was good, I really enjoy the cartoon, it was nice to see it translate pretty well to print. Tiny Titans was as good as ever, although a couple of the strips I had seen before. Were they in last year's FCBD issue? Maybe I read a preview on-line... I just can't seem to fork out $2.50 an issue for this series, even though it is always a good (if brief) read.

Nancy/Melvin (Drawn & Quarterly): Didn't care for the Melvin Monster half and thought the Nancy half was just okay. Nancy seems to be pretty popular (popular enough to warrant some collected editions, I guess), but just doesn't seem to do anything for me. I really liked the faded yellow newsprint though, I thought that was a great touch.

Blackest Night (DC): I liked this a lot, I haven't read any Green Lantern or Green Lantern Corps since long before the relaunch, but had no trouble following along. It really sucked me into wanting to buy the series, then I saw the last page... 24 issue checklist?!?! At least $2.99+tax each minimum probably, so no thanks... I wonder how many are really essential to the story? If anything I'll just wait for the trade of the "main series". I did get Sinestro Corps War Vol. 1 in the mail today (as well as the Diana Prince: Wonder Woman TPB... thanks for the recommendation Chuck!), so that will definitely influence whether I end up checking this out or not.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage): Wow! 25 years! This really brought me back, I loved this when it first came out... I think I started with issue 7 off the rack and quickly got the back issues... or at least whatever xth printing I could find! Man those first prints were expensive and rare... even back then! I really loved this series, at least the first dozen issues and one-shots or so... I sold all my Turtle issues a long while back so was nice to get this.

Great job - thanks, Kyle!

Uncanny X-Men #509

Any writer worth his (or her) salt knows it's a good idea to play to the strength of your artist.

That's exactly what Matt Fraction has done in his work on Uncanny X-Men.

Greg Land provides the pencil art here, and he's especially good at capturing expressions and drawing beautiful women.

To accommodate that skill, Fraction has provided a story that pits the X-Men - a team that already features a number of stunning females - against a team of bad guys that's entirely made up of beautiful women.

Leading the bad "guys" is Madeline Pryor, who's looking great for a dead woman. Her back story is way too complicated, but let's just say she's (basically) an evil clone of Jean Grey.

After several issues of set-up, this is the issue where the action takes over and the plot is revealed, and assuming I'm following it correctly, there should be a really controversial event happening in the next issue or two - so keep an eye out for that, X-fans.

After spending quite a few years turning out stories that didn't really grab the attention of the readers out there, the X-Men definitely seems to be back on the right track.

And, if you're a fan of good-girl art, it's a mighty attractive track, too. (Oh, you know what I mean.)

Grade: B+

Sherlock Holmes #1

There are lots of bad Sherlock Holmes adaptations and knock-offs out there in the literary world - and quite a few good ones, I should add - so I approached this series with no small amount of trepidation.

I've read and enjoyed all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original Holmes stories, so I'm always hoping a new author can capture the real detective and provide us with a new story worthy of the originals.

It's too soon to say that this issue manages that difficult feat, but it's certainly a good start.

The cover by John Cassaday, for example, is outstanding. The interior art by Aaron Campbell is quite good, too. It's not flashy at all, but it captures the era well and sets the moody setting.

The story by Leah Moore and John Reppion is solid so far, although we just get the setup in this first issue.

The story follows the investigation into a massive explosion that destroyed a warehouse in the East End of London (located at the too-cute address at the corner of Doyle's Street and Challenger Lane).

Threats are made to the life of an elderly gentleman, so Holmes investigates, along with his friend Dr. Watson, and the result finds Holmes in unfamiliar territory.

There's still a lot of story to unfold, and some may quibble with the characterization of Holmes at the end of the story, but so far I'm enjoying this one. I do look forward to seeing more of Holmes' analytical side, though.

And I managed to get through the review without a single mention of the word "elementary!" Well, except for that one.

Grade: B+

Free Comic Book Day!

Reader Kyle writes:

Hey Chuck, you headed to your LCS today for FCBD? Would be interested in hearing your thoughts on some of the selections...

Unfortunately, I completely dropped the ball on Free Comic Book Day - I just didn't have time to stop by my shop - although my shop owner assured me he'd have some on Wednesday for his usual customers. I'll share my thoughts once I get a look at 'em.

Readers (and I know you're out there), I'd love to hear what you picked up today and what was worth looking at. From past experience, those free comics run the gamut from fun... to lame.

To leave a comment, just click on the "Comments" link at the bottom of this entry.

Justice Society of America #26

And here we come to the end of an era (or at least a darn good run of comics) as Geoff Johns turns in his final issue of Justice Society of America.

Johns has done some terrific work on this series, crafting stories about big events that make you think and have emotional impact.

He's filled the book to the brim with fascinating characters, including original members of the first super-team in comics, members of the newest generation of heroes and some who fall in between.

Stories have run the gamut from big, cosmic battles for the fate of the Earth to small, personal stories that touch the heart. The story that returned Ma Hunkle to the team is one of my all-time favorite comics anywhere.

I like the fact that his final issue is another personal one - this one focuses on Stargirl and both her families - her real one and her super-family. It's loaded with sweet moments, although my favorite has to be a conversation Wildcat has with his son - it's not often a comic gives you a lump in your throat.

This issue is also Dale Eaglesham's last as penciler, and he's going out in style, with lots of stunning panels crowded with family members, and plenty of intimate personal moments, too. He's really grown on this comic, and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

It would be remiss not to mention the incredible family portrait on the cover by Alex Ross, although it's a bit of a pain to have it spread across three different covers. But it'll make a heckuva poster someday.

Here's hoping the next creative team can maintain the high standards this book has enjoyed for most of its run. It's a tall order, but the JSA, as DC's first family, deserves the best.

Grade: A-

Dark Avengers #4

I realize that writer Brian Bendis is the master of extended storylines - after all, he's the guy who took Spider-Man's 15-page origin and stretched it into the first eight (or more) issues of Ultimate Spider-Man.

But that's OK - it's his style, and he's very good at it. But it's starting to wear around the edges.

In Dark Avengers, for example, the first issue set up the premise - Norman Osborn recruits villains to disguise themselves as heroes and form a new Avengers team - and then the story launched into a battle between the Dark Avengers and Morgana Le Fay.

That battle has continued for three issues, as Avengers battle armies of demons, and actually manage to kill Le Fay - only she's not really dead, which gets an incomprehensible explanation. There's not a lot of plot going on here, just bad guys getting hammered by spells and demons over and over again - and since they're all villains, we root for no one.

So here we are, three issues later, and they're all still fighting. The story is finally resolved in this issue, but not in a particularly satisfying way.

And would someone please explain to comics writers that dinosaurs and humans did not exist side by side? Gah!

Despite my gripes, there are some nice moments - the final page is quite good - and the art is fabulous. Mike Deodato turns in some stunning pages here, and is really carrying the issue. He should be high up on the list of amazingly talented artists.

I think this series would be easier to handle if we knew how many issues we're in for. Right now, I find I'm losing patience with it - the art is the only reason to recommend it.

Oh, one more thing. The cover scene? Nowhere in the comic.

Grade: B+