• Man Thing #1
• Human Target #12
• Justice League Elite #1
• Robin #128
• Daredevil #62

• Amazing Spider-Man #510
• JLA #102
• Green Lantern #179
• Fantastic Four #516
• Ex Machina #2

This second issue of “Sins of the Past” really heats up. This arc is picking up steam in a big hurry. Deodato, Jr. is a solid replacement for John Romita, Jr. (currently on a short hiatus) and I’m enjoying his work very much. Straczynski is solid in his storytelling as always, this time building a very intriguing mystery revolving around the two people who are out to kill both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Up until this issue the assailants didn’t know that the two were the same; somehow they did find out, though it’s not revealed how, but is causes a lot of further complications for our hero.

This story revolves mostly around Peter’s history with Gwen Stacy, their romance and the events leading up to her untimely death at the hands of Norman Osborn. I have to say I’m on the edge of my seat at this point, so to speak, with Straczynski weaving new threads into the rich history of Peter and Gwen’s relationship seamlessly and masterfully. There’s a very notable twist that takes place on the last page of the story, but I won’t discuss that here as it’s a real shocker. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast paced mystery, a character driven story and super-heroics all rolled into one.-TMC-

This is the second chapter of the story arc “Pain of the Gods” by the current creative team of Chuck Austen and Ron Garney. I’ll refrain from discussing the creative team since my opinions are well documented on my other review pages, and instead go right to the review itself. This six issue story arc focuses on one member of the JLA for each issue, in this case the Flash.

I find it a bit odd that this issue and the previous one, featuring Superman, were published back to back. The reason for this is that both issues featured tragedy resulting from a fire that the heroes are assisting with. I find myself wondering if every issue in the arc will feature a fire and the hero’s failure to save someone from it. One thing that I do find rather cool is that the individual issue titles are the “alternate names” for the heroes, in this case “Scarlet Speedster.” These titles are an homage to the comics creators of the past, having been coined early on in the run of the original book.

Next issue features Green Lantern John Stewart, the “Emerald Gladiator.” I’m not sure yet how I feel about this arc, but I’ll keep reading it, mostly since I’ve been reading this incarnation of JLA since the first issue and it’s too late to stop now. -TMC-

Ron Marz continues to decimate the life of Kyle Rayner. This time around Kyle ends up in a slam bang fight with his fellow Green Lantern John Stewart after becoming aware of the identity of the person pulling the strings behind his destruction: Major Force, the first major villain (no pun intended) that Kyle encountered after becoming GL, and the man who murdered his girlfriend. Kyle decides to put a stop to this immediately, and goes to call Major Force out at the government offices where Force is based. However, the secretary hits the “panic button,” bringing Stewart to investigate, little expecting that Kyle is the one causing the disturbance.

The two end up going at it after John tells Kyle that he can’t just attack a government facility, regardless of the provocation. Stewart tells Kyle in so many words that he’ll let him off with a warning; this pushes Kyle over the edge, because he isn’t the “rookie” anymore and feels that Stewart is overstepping his bounds. The two have a battle, mostly with their rings, and with Kyle prevailing. Suddenly he realizes what he’s done and apologizes, and he and John have a heart to heart talk that ends with Kyle deciding to take some time off and go home to visit his mom. I think that may be a decision he regrets, as the last scene in the issue is Major Force saying that he’s going to have to get involved more personally in this situation.

With only two issues to go of his regular series, and Hal Jordan slated to return as Green Lantern, I’m wondering if Kyle will survive this latest encounter. Add to that the speculation revolving around the events in the Identity Crisis limited series and the future for Kyle looks bleak, indeed… -TMC-

The final issue of this story arc features the Fantastic Four’s retaliation against the Wizard, their long-time enemy, and the latest incarnation of his Frightful Four. The Wizard was on the offensive last issue, having invaded Four Freedom’s Plaza (is that even still the name of their HQ?), but this issue the Fantastic Four is taking the fight to him. Aiding the FF is the Wizard’s own daughter, Cole, who sought out Johnny Storm as a means of getting to Reed Richards in order for Richards to cure her genetic alteration, induced by her own father through genetic engineering.

This was a solid story, as always, with Waid proving again how well he knows his craft. The pacing is perfect, with a huge battle taking place in the Wizard’s headquarters / hideout. Cole proves herself to the FF when she is instrumental in the defeat of the Frightful Four, including personally defeating the Wizard at the cost of her own safety. This is another solid issue by this long-term creative team, which makes me wonder how it was ever possible that they were going to be fired by the powers that be. I’m glad that the editorial staff, and Joe Quesada in particular, reversed direction on that decision, as it would have been a HUGE mistake on their part. -TMC-