The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 2 #4
By Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
Published by America's Best Comics
Honestly this second storyline hasn't been engaging me like the earlier one did, but I first read that one in collected form, too, so it could just be an artifact of reading it in monthly installments. In any case, this issue strikes me as probably the best of either of the two series, with the incredible assault on London by the Martians and even more striking, some astonishing character development between Mina and Quatermain. In one of the unsexiest sex scenes ever created for entertainment purposes, Mina and Quatermain open themselves up, leaving few secrets between them, but leaving them both looking more than a little shell-shocked. It's a where-do-we-go-next moment that has me salivating for the next chapter. Grade: 4.5/5
Avengers #62
By Geoff Johns and Gary Frank
Published by Marvel Comics
The irony is staggering. For months, one of the best mainstream writers in comics (Kurt Busiek) twisted in the wind while Marvel turned over the book's visuals to subpar talent (Manuel Garcia, and then Kieron Dwyer and Rick Remender) unworthy of the legacy left by George Perez and then Alan Davis. Finally, a decent superhero artist is on board (Frank), so one of today's most reliable and reliably dull writers comes in to restore the balance. There's a bunch of baloney about Scott Lang losing custody of his daughter and Jack Of Hearts (a character nobody -- nobody -- has ever given a shit about) losing control and getting all, uh, irritable. Well, it looks nice, anyway. But if you're looking for quality Avengers stories, you're looking for The Ultimates. Grade: 3/5
Ultimate War #2
By Mark Millar and Chris Bachalo
Published by Marvel Comics
Speaking of The Ultimates, this title took me by complete surprise. I expected the book to be nothing but a cynical cash-in on the popularity of two of Marvel's biggest-selling titles, but Mark Millar is working as hard on the scripts as he does on The Ultimates, and Bachalo's artwork mostly avoids the nonsense so in evidence in his disastrous Steampunk project. The result is a tight, gripping confrontation over two very different teams, with the return of the presumed-dead Magneto thrown in as a bonus. Bachalo pulls off some very nice panels, reminding me of his excellent run on Uncanny X-Men a few years back. I love, for example, his interpretations of Wolverine, Captain America, and Quicksilver. He occasionally indulges his more abstract urges, for example a full-page panel of Magneto attacking that is mostly indecipherable. But overall the book is taut and exciting, and fans of Marvel's Ultimates titles must be loving this series. Grade: 4/5
Global Frequency #3
By Warren Ellis and Steve Dillon
Published by DC/Wildstorm
Of the three issues published so far, I was most looking forward to this one. Ellis and Dillon have worked well together before, and I'm fascinated by the subject matter, memetics -- the science of studying how ideas can spread like viruses. You'll certainly learn more about the concept from Richard Brodie's excellent book, but I thought Ellis and Dillon would at least make it exciting. Instead, it's a mostly torpid tale that hinges on a typical Mark Waid/Kurt Busiek "Everybody Love Each Other To Make the Bad Guy Go Away" type ending. Three issues in, this book is veering pretty far off-course from the excellent premise. Grade: 3.5/5
Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra #3
By Greg Rucka and Salvador Larroca
Published by Marvel Comics
Well, it's better than the redundant and way overrated Man Without Fear mini-series by Miller and Romita Jr., but unfortunately this pointless exercise still falls far below the standard set by Miller and Janson's original source material. It wasn't broke, and it didn't need to be fixed. A solid, unnecessary read by two mis-used creators whose talents could be better used on a more worthy project. Grade: 3/5
Fantastic Four #64
By Mark Waid and Mike Weiringo
Published by Marvel Comics
Waid and Weiringo are a good team and the book's probably better than it's been since the John Byrne days. That said, this three-issue storyline, about a math expression that falls in love with Reed Richards, is too cute by half and would have been better suited to an annual or even just a single issue. It's an idea that engages but doesn't sustain over three months, despite Waid's charming words and Weiringo's flawless superhero cartooning. A nice ending that captures the strengths of the title, though, which flies in the face of the over-rendered (and counter-productive) covers and ass-ugly new logo. Grade: 4/5
Scars #1
By Warren Ellis and Jacen Burrows
Published by Avatar Press
The debut issue of this horrific cop saga doesn't disappoint in the least. Ellis's script is tough, cruel and affecting, and Burrows turns in his usual excellent work -- he's one of the better comics artists working today, and the only way the book could look better is if it were in colour (Nimbus Studios always does a wonderful job on the covers of these Avatar titles and it makes me long to see the whole book get the same treatment). Ellis's best works always have an unexpected twist to them, and there's one of those here, one that may keep you up at night thinking about it. Grade: 4/5