Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #2- Jason Aaron writes these characters together the way they should be written, and that’s without taking either of them seriously. Considering the amount of crap both of these guys star in it’s nice to read something that just has fun with them and embraces crazy concepts. Spidey teaching at a school for advance cavemen? Check. Dr Doom’s consciousness transferred into a giant planet? Check. Robo-Devil Dinosaur? Check. The Phoenix Force cast into a bullet and being shot out of Phoenix Gun? Check. Adam Kubert’s art compliments the craziness perfectly and this has just been a fun ride. A-
The Sixth Gun #1 & 2- I didn’t pick up any free comics during this years Free Comics Day because we were running out of them so fast, so while I took a good scan at Sixth Gun #1 I didn’t get to fully read it. Went ahead and picked both issues up and I’ll just say this is pretty friggin’ awesome. I’ve always liked Brian Hurtt’s art and the coloring perfectly compliments the atmosphere and mood of the story. Cullen Bunn crafts a brilliant supernatural western suspense story, something that can be incredible tricky to do and be successful. Do yourself a favor and check this out. A
The Calling: Cthulhu Chronicles #1- I really wanted to like this more than I did, but the scripting felt a little forced and while the art wasn’t bad by any means it didn’t really grip me either. This story didn’t feel unique from all the other Boom! Cthulhu stories either, so for $3.99 I needed a little more to sink my teeth into. Hopefully the next issue picks up the pace. C+
Gorilla-Man #1- A Jeff parker book starring a Gorilla man-of-action fighting science villains and solving mysteries? Yeah, had to get it. Awesome cover by Johnson, solid art by Giancarlo Caracuzzo, and a fun tie-in to the Agents of Atlas world. The only crappy thing is the $3.99 price tag for a 22-page story and a reprint we didn’t really need. B+
Batman #701- While I was ok with not really knowing the events between Batman RIP and Final Crisis, I still thought this was a fun read and Daniel’s art started to grow on me a little more. As quick as it was, I love the one page of interaction with Superman and the idea that Batman has worked so hard to gain the respect of the Justice League that they forget he’s a normal person sometimes. A
