• Thundercats:Enemy's Pride #1
• Y: The Last Man #24
• Swamp Thing #5
• Detective Comics #796
• Thor #82 (584)
• Fantastic Four #515
• DC Comics Presents #1

• Invaders #4
• Action Comics #775
• Firestorm vol.3 #3
• Alpha Flight vol.3 #5
• Exiles #49
• Birds of Prey #69

Publisher: Marvel
WRITERS: Alan Jacobsen & Chuck Austen
ART: C. P. Smith

This is the final chapter in a story arc that brings back and updates the concept of the Invaders. Chuck Austen is partnered here with C. P. Smith, a name that I am not familiar with. The story flows well enough, but there are several elements that seem to have come out of left field somewhere, as the saying goes. But more on that in a moment. The art doesn’t appeal to me at all; the lines are clean, but in this case it’s TOO clean. There is a definite lack of detail in the line art, especially in shots from far away.

I find Austen’s writing to be very hit and miss, which is very odd. On some books he seems to be very good; on others, like Avengers and this book, he seems to not have any idea what he’s doing. For instance, the Thin Man (Bruce Dickson) has not appeared in the previous 3 parts of this story arc but is suddenly there, and is in fact a large part of the focus of the issue. That just doesn’t make sense to me. Also, I don’t know at this point if I’ll ever like Smith’s art, but I hope I’ll be able to get past it enough to like this book. I’ll most likely stay with the book for the first complete story arc, but if my feelings haven’t changed by that point I’ll drop this book and move on to something else. -TMC-

This issue of Action Comics has been re-released to coincide with the 100th issue of JLA, which features the return of the Elite. The creative team on JLA 100 was almost the same, except for the inker, who was different on the two issues. The art is solid enough, but I’m not sure how much I like it at this point; Kelly is a solid writer, but I’m not sure exactly what he was attempting to do with this story.

This book introduced Manchester Black and his Elite, a team of “anti-heroes” who challenge the status quo of the super-hero community with the idea that the kid gloves need to come off and the villains need to be dealt with in a less gentle manner. The team specifically targets Superman, who is regarded as the “icon” for the less brutal way of dealing with crime. The end result is a showdown during which Superman has no choice but to use the Elite’s own methods against them in a sequence that was rather shocking (to me, at least).

I have to say, though, that even after reading this book, JLA 100 still doesn’t make any sense. There appears to be another confrontation somewhere between Superman and Black that is referenced in JLA 100 that I have not read. That makes both books a bit harder to understand, mostly the most current appearance of the Elite. Maybe they need to reprint the other appearance (or appearances) of the Elite leading up to JLA 100; I can’t guarantee that I’d check them out, but if I did at least this whole story would make more sense. Or at least I would hope so. -TMC-

I have to say, first off, that I was not thrilled when I heard that Firestorm was coming back, but not as the traditional Ronnie Raymond character. I have to admit, though, that I MAY have been wrong. I picked up this issue at the urging of one of my friends and find myself very interested. Dan Jolley is a solid storyteller, and even though I was a bit confused as to what was going on I was still able to make a certain amount of sense out of what was going on in the story. The art is solid, with just a tiny bit of a cartoony influence while still not going over the edge to manga. I haven’t seen Chriscross’s work in a long time but I’m reminded here of why I like it.

I’m intrigued enough by the story to consider searching for the previous two issues, but haven’t made up my mind yet. This entire issue deals with the new “base” of Firestorm, Jason Rousch, and his having merged with someone that he knows. The newest incarnation of Firestorm apparently has one very major difference from the previous one, being that he can merge with literally anyone who is within a certain distance from him. We also get a very brief, very vague look at Jason’s life to this point in a rather odd flashback sequence, showing what has made him what he is today. And “great power” and “great responsibility” don’t come into the equation.

As I said above, I’m more interested than I thought I would be in where this new series is going. I think it’s got me hooked just enough to pick up the next couple of issues to see if it can maintain my attention. -TMC-

PUBLISHER: MARVEL COMICS
WRITER: Scott Lobdell
PENCILS: Clayton Henry
INKS: Mark Morales (with Avalon)

This is the first issue I’ve picked up of the newest incarnation of Alpha Flight (having read the previous two faithfully). It was recommended by one of my friends so I thought I’d give it a try. And I was glad I did, as I enjoyed it very much.

This is the fifth part of the six part “You Gotta Be Kidding Me” story arc. Having come in at the end of the arc I was a bit unsure of exactly what is going on, but the creative team does a good job of putting small details into the story to help anyone who hasn’t read the previous issues get up to speed. Apparently, the alien Plodex (who were featured throughout the two previous Alpha Flight books) are back again, still attempting to conquer the Earth. The new team (put together by Sasquatch (original Alpha Flight member Dr. Walter Langkowski) comes in to rescue the original team, who are being held captive by the Plodex, and naturally things are not necessarily as they appear. A fight takes place between new and old, further explaining a bit of the history of the current story as well as more about the characters involved on both sides and their powers. The end of this issue is, of course, a huge cliffhanger.

I have to say I really did enjoy this book, as much as I thought I wouldn’t. The person who suggested it asked if I liked the 80’s Giffen & DeMattis Justice League because this book brings that same feeling. He was definitely right, as that feeling of comedy and barely controlled chaos is certainly there. I like the art; Clayton Henry is a name I don’t remember hearing before but one I’ll definitely be looking for in the future. His facial expressions on the characters are particularly great; he manages to convey all kinds of different emotion just by changing small details in the faces. I also find myself really liking these new characters and hoping they stick around. I find Major Mapleleaf particularly entertaining as he provides the same sort of feeling that Captain Marvel, and later General Glory, did in the above mentioned JL (hmm, all characters with military rank in their name…coincidence?). All in all a good read, and I know I’ll be back for more for sure. Not only that, but I’ll either be seeking out the previous issues or making sure to pick up the trade paperback when it comes out. -TMC-

The Exiles are a team who jump between alternate realities trying to fix timelines that have been “unhinged,” or gone off of their “normal” track. The team’s roster can change at any time, whether through the death of a team member or a member being restored to their own “original” repaired timeline.

The team’s mission for this issue is to free the Impossible Man. As is the case most of the time, the team is given only very basic information, leaving it to them to figure out what needs to be done in order to affect the repair to the timeline. Complicating matters further is the fact that as opposed to the “mainstream” Marvel reality, in this alternate reality the Impossible Man can control other objects as well as himself, endangering the entire planet. The opening page showing what he’s done to this world’s Avengers is particularly disturbing…

Tony Bedard, the new writer, seems to be finding the voices of the characters more with every issue; he’s been hit and miss over the previous 3 issues of his run, but being as there’s 2 completely new characters (Namora and Beak, both added to the team in the previous arc) it’s going to take some time to establish the new team dynamic. All in all I like the creative team; Calafiore and McKenna’s styles compliment each other nicely, and the art remains very clean with crisp lines and vibrant colors (for which we can thank JC). This was a nice standalone issue, but I’m definitely looking forward to the next story arc as it’s supposed to be pretty big. -TMC-