7.18.07 Reviews

Another week of business travel and some time spent catching up with old friends and colleagues prevents full reviews, but here's what I picked up and thumbed through this week;

Justice League of America #11 (DC): This is simply the best issue of the series to date. And it's not just Gene Ha's spectacular art, but a truly horrific sequence that highlights the personalities of two of the current league's least known members in the midst of some small, intense acts of heroism. Grade A.

The Brave & The Bold #5 (DC): If Perez's rendition of Saturn Girl and Ultra Boy on the cover isn't enough to lure you in, there's a really fun duo of stories here highlighting Bats & LSH along with the Green Lantern/Supergirl/Adam Strange trio. Beautiful art and a nice dense script that moves right along. Grade A.

Checkmate #16 (DC): The appearance of one of the Chinese heroes from 52 was a real snoozefest, but the back story around Michael Holt and Sasha Bordeaux's love affair was intriguing. Grade B+.

The Lone Ranger #7 (Dynamite Entertainment): Happy to see this title chugging along into the next arc.

The Order #1 (Marvel): Honestly, I have no real interest in any of these characters and the association with Civil War is a strike against, but at this point I'll pretty much try anything that Matt Fraction writes for an issue or two, his credibility continuing to rise.

The Programme #1 (DC/Wildstorm): Combine Peter Milligan's writing with an interesting core premise and I'll give it a shot.

World War Hulk #2 (Marvel): It sure feels like all things WWH are flooding the market at the moment and risk diluting the character's offerings, but I'm sticking with the core series and did enjoy the first issue.

ZeroKiller #1 (Dark Horse): Arvid Nelson's writing is extremely hit and miss for me, but there was something intriguing about the art on this in the Free Comic Book Day sampler, so I'll give it a shot.

I also picked up;

The Lone Ranger: Volume 1 Hardcover (Dynamite Entertainment): I was hoping for some additional bonus material in this hardcover, but it's still nice to have the first six issues collected on the shelf with a relatively low price point. Grade A.