Superman, Vol.3 – “Fury at World’s End” (DC Comics)

Writer: Scott Lobdell | Artist: Kenneth Rocafort (#13-17,19), Aaron Kuder (#18), Tyler Kirkham (#18), Robson Rocha (#18) | Inks: Aaron Kuder (#18), Jaime Mendoza (#18) | Colors: Sunny Goh (#13-16,18), Blond (#17-19)

H’El has come to Earth. When a mysterious ghost from Krypton’s past comes to Metropolis in hopes of finding the lost planet’s last son, his arrival comes with disastrous consequences for not just Superman, but also for Superboy and Supergirl. H’El has decided that Earth is the place to resurrect Krypton, but the price the lives of everyone on the planet! Guest-starring the Justice League, Wonder Woman, Orion and more!

Collects: Superman #13-17 [+ #18-19]

Continuing my attempts to catch up on a few New 52 titles, before I… uh… give them up… I actually quite like the Superman series. It wobbled a bit early on when the DC Powers That Be (DCPTB) decided to tie it in to the daemonite/Helspont mess that dominated the story-arcs of Grifter and Voodoo, but also roped in Stormwatch (and maybe a couple others?). I liked the greater attention paid to Superman/Clark’s everyday life, as a journalist and as someone navigating the changing industry and also his personal relationships. This collection of issues had a lot of this, too, and I’m certainly glad I read it. However, it also features the Superman issues that tie into the Super-family Event, “H’El on Earth”, which presented some issues for me.

Graphic Novel Round-Up (September)

I’ve not been keeping on top of graphic novels and comics as I had been – just been too busy and distracted. Nevertheless, this weekend I was able to catch up on some, so I decided to write very quick reviews of those that stood out.

Reviewed: East of West, Vol.1; Wolverine & the X-Men, Vol.3; Astro City, Vol.1, Archer & Armstrong, Vol.1

Batman & Robin, Vol.2-3: “Batman vs. Robin” & “Batman and Robin Must Die!” (DC)

I’m still catching up with a huge backlog of comics/graphic novel reviews, but I decided to collect these two books together. Partly because they’re obviously connected, but also because I wanted to get the reviews out of the way. After liking the first volume in Grant Morrison’s Batman & Robin run far more than I anticipated (I’ve written plenty of times how I think he’s highly over-rated), I dove in to the second and third volume pretty soon afterwards. (Told you I was being slow with reviewing…) Sadly, my pleasant surprise at the quality of volume one evaporated with these two books. These are, frankly, not so good.

Comics Round-Up: CAPTAIN AMERICA (Vol.5) Collections (Marvel)

With my new job, I haven’t been spending as much time at my home computer in the past few months. I have not, however, stopped reading. Not by any stretch of the imagination. As a result, though, I have been racking up a lot of sets of notes for books (fiction, non-fiction, and particularly graphic novels) that I haven’t had a chance to feature on the blog, yet. So, over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to try (famous last words) to get a whole bunch mini-reviewed.

Part of the attraction of shorter reviews for many of these graphic novels, along with the lower time commitment, comes from a desire to avoid spoilers. Some of these – as in this review – are volumes that come pretty late in established (or slowly-becoming-established) series. Anyway, let us get on with it. Here are some thoughts on the following Captain America books: The Death of Captain America, Vols.1-3, Man With No Face, and also Man Out Of Time.

The Sixth Gun, Vol.3 – “Bound” & Vol.4 – “A Town Call Penance” (Oni Press)

Volume Three. Still awesome.

Writer: Cullen Bunn | Artist: Brian Hurtt (#12-13, 15-17) & Tyler Crook (#14, #23) | Colors: Bill Crabtree

Traveling by secret railroad, Becky and Drake accompany an order of mysterious monks on a quest to bury General Hume’s body on holy ground. But malevolent forces spurred by a sinister necromancer stage a terrifying attack on the train. Drake vanishes without a trace. Alone, Becky continues her journey to a secluded mountain fortress where she discovers how deeply her fate is entwined with that of The Sixth Gun. Meanwhile, Gord revisits a haunted mansion from his past hoping to discover a means to destroy the Six, but the ghosts he stirs have no intention of letting his quest continue.

Vol.3 Collects: The Sixth Gun #12-17
Vol.4 Collects: The Sixth Gun #18-23

Ah, The Sixth Gun. Without a doubt, this is one of my favourite comics series. It blends Wild Western adventure with some supernatural shenanigans. There’s action, humour, spooky stuff, and a plot that will hook you from the very start. I loved both of these books.

Mark Waid’s “Daredevil” Vol.3 (Marvel)

The third act of Waid’s highly acclaimed run

Writers: Mark Waid (Avenging Spider-Man #6, Daredevil #11-15), Greg Rucka (ASM#6, The Punisher #10) | Artists: Marco Checchetto (ASM#6, TP#10, Dd#11), Chris Samnee (Dd#12,14,15) & Khoi Pham (Dd#13) | Inks: Tom Palmer (Dd#13) | Colours: Matt Hollingsworth (ASM#6, TP#10, Dd#11), Javier Rodriquez (Dd#12-15)

It’s the meanest team-up you ever saw as Daredevil, Spider-Man and the Punisher find themselves caught up in an epic chase across Manhattan for the Omega Drive – a powerful and dangerous information source that could change the course of all their lives!

Plus: It’s lawyers in love as Matt Murdock finally makes some time for Assistant District Attorney Kirsten McDuffie. But when Megacrime strikes back at Daredevil, the sightless super hero finds himself imprisoned in Latveria for crimes against the state! And as the law firm of Nelson & Murdock undergoes a drastic change, Matt’s “happy go lucky” veneer at last begins to peel back, revealing darker truths that may just end his heroic career.

That’s probably the busiest credits list I’ve ever seen for a single graphic novel collection… Nevertheless, this is a pretty solid book, and one that continues Mark Waid’s excellent run on telling the story of the Man Without Fear. “The Omega Effect” story, which forms the first three chapters (and reviewed first here & here), is a great opening mini-arc for the book, as it is the culmination of a lot of Daredevil’s shenanigans. I did, however, prefer the Daredevil-specific storyline that followed. This is a very good book, and I highly recommend it for fans of the series and Waid’s work in general; and also the series for people who want to read just great comics.

Collects: Avenging Spider-Man #6, The Punisher #10, Daredevil #11-15