One-Line Reviews for Recent Titles

AQUAMAN #17

Written by: Geoff Johns

Art by: Paul Pelletier and Art Thibert

Variant Cover by: Paul Pelletier, Art Thibert

Steadily, the New 52 DC Universe has carefully hedged its bets with Aquaman, a bad joke given good substance, and the results come through in the story by Geoff Johns and the beautiful care taken by Pelletier and Thibert. 

8.5/10

ALL-STAR WESTERN #17

Written by: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti

Art by: Moritat

Backup Art by: Staz Johnson

Cover by: Bill Sienkiewicz

The DC New 52 has given new life to the Jonah Hex franchise (and the western comic genre) with All-Star Western, but the real treat comes in the expansive unfolding of DC's old west universe, under a variety of talents.

8.5/10

BATMAN INCORPORATED #8

Written by: Grant Morrison

Art by: Chris Burnham

Though this issue moves at a break-neck speed, marking the death of Damian Wayne, Batman's sidekick/son, the scenario seems too contrived and falls flat, a rare bad note in Morrison's symphony, nonetheless beautifully rendered by Chris Burnham.

7/10

THE FLASH #17

Written by: 

Francis Manapul

Brian Buccellato

Art by: 

Francis Manapul

Since he reshaped the entire DC Universe by running really fast (again), Barry Allen has been having establishing shot adventures in his hometown, most recently concluded here in his battle against overly intelligent primates (again), but the stale material of pre-chewed storyline is competently handled by Manapul and Buccellato, while the art shows new potential in the formalities.

8/10

AVENGERS ARENA #5

Writer: Dennis Hopeless 

Cover Artist: Dave Johnson

Artist: Kev Walker  

The second-rate villain Arcade has redesigned Murderworld to thin out the Avengers Academy by forcing them into mortal battle with one another, which seems like a tired premise and would be if not for clever character development by Dennis Hopeless and near-perfect visuals by Dave Johnson.

9/10

UNCANNY AVENGERS #4

Writer: Rick Remender

Penciler: John Cassaday

Inker: John Cassaday

Colorists: Laura Martin and Larry Molinar

Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos

Editors: Tom Brevoort and Daniel Ketchum

The extension of the Red Skull's plot to pit humans against mutants presents the first major threat to the newly integrated team of Avengers that include Havok, Rogue, and the Scarlet Witch; the solid script by Remender and award-winning artwork by John Cassady make this book a high-quality treat. 

9/10

UNCANNY X-MEN #2

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis 

Penciler: Chris Bachalo 

Cover Artist: Chris Bachalo 

With the new relaunch of Uncanny X-Men, we see a disgraced and power-fragmented Cyclops attempting to assemble a school for wayward teen mutants in the hope of defending themselves against the various threats of humanity, given weight by Bendis and sculpted by Bachalo.

8.5/10

YOUNG AVENGERS #2

Writer: Kieron Gillen 

Artists: Jamie Mckelvie with Mike Norton

Kieron Gillen delivers a no-frils superhero team comprised of a younger generation of interesting characters, and Jamie Mckelvie and Mike Norton are having a good time with narrative design, in terms of asethetics, making this a surprisingly impressive exercise.

8.5/10