I didn't read Justice League of America #111 this week but I totally want to after reading Greg's post on the Kryptonian Octosaur. I did read a bunch of other comics, though. Here's the rundown:
Annihilation: Conquest 6: I've always been pretty lukewarm on this whole Annihilation thing. Ever since the lead-ins to the original miniseries, I've thought they were enjoyable but not spectacular. This issue was spectacular. All the pieces clicked for me with this issue. This was superhero space opera at its finest -- and I'm a Legion of Superheroes fan and a Dreadstar fan, so I know superhero space opera at its finest.
Iron Man: Legacy of Doom 1: I don't know much about Iron Man's current status quo -- pretty much my only exposure to him is the most recent collection of Brubaker's Captain America, so I'm not up on all the details of the Extremis Virus or whatever crap they're putting him through in his regular book. Thankfully, this issue -- by the Irontastic team of David Michelinie and Bob Layton (with Ron Lim on pencils) takes place almost entirely in flashback. Judging by the armor Iron Man is wearing, it's set toward the end of the second Michelinie/Layton run on Iron Man. As the name implies, it's a team-up between Iron Man and Dr. Doom. The first time they met, they wound up in Camelot. The second time they met, they wound up 100 years in the future. This time? I won't spoil it, but it's a good one. It's also worth noting, in light of recent issues of the Avengers, that Doom behaves completely in character.
Bat Lash 5: Things go to hell in Broken Arrow, Texas. The townsfolk are out for Sheriff Brubaker's blood. Sheriff Brubaker is out for Old Man Wilder's blood. Old Man Wilder is out for Brubaker's blood. Brubaker and Wilder both want to kill Bat Lash, and the feeling is mutual. Bullets fly, fires rage, blood flows, and as usual, John Severin makes it all look gorgeous.
Suicide Suad 8: This issue is proof positive that DC Editorial is insanely stupid, since it's the last issue of a miniseries instead of the eighth issue of an ongoing Suicide Squad book. As usual, Ostrander nails it. A great issue all around. My favorite moment is the quintissential Deadshot scene, which Ostrander follows with a great scene between Deadshot and Boomerang. Great stuff.
Brave and the Bold 12: It's the whole DC Universe versus Megistus. Waid has really nailed this series, and Ordway has done a phenomenal job in taking over the art from George Perez. This is old-school, 80s-style comic bookery at its best.
Amazing Spider-Man 557: It's the conclusion of the Spidey-versus-the-dude-who-wants-to-summon-the-Mayan-death-god arc. This hasn't been my favorite arc -- Spider-Man never really works for me when he's dealing with mystical stuff -- but I did appreciate some of the little stuff in this story, like Spidey's interraction with the homeless guy last issue, or the way he used his web shooters in this issue.
Posted by Jason Fliegel at April 18, 2008 10:31 PM
JLA #111-112 is an odd little Injustice Gang story; it's pretty cool, except it's never really explained who the main villain was. He just sort of shows up with extraordinary capabilties, does his thing, and gets his comeuppance, with no backstory or anything. It's weird.
Plus there's about 150 pages of some pretty awesome reprints.
Ah, but Libra's coming back in Final Crisis. Dunno if an octosaur's showing up, but it is being written by Grant Morrison so I wouldn't put it completely out of the realm of possibility for one to do so.