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Agent X #12
Writer: Daniel Way
Artist: Kyle Hotz
This was supposed to be Agent X's last issue, but a few weeks ago it was announced that its run has been extended by three issues that will begin in August. The original creative team of Gail Simone and UDON will be back on the title and promise to give Alex a proper send-off. The return of Deadpool is even being teased.
The extension of the comic kind of renders this "last issue" worthless, like several of Spider-Girl's "last" issues. Nevertheless, I decided to pick it up.
This one-shot story by a newcomer to the title was much better than I expected. I found the last two issues of Agent X to be pretty bad, but this one mixes the right amount of action and comedy.
The plot revolves around to big television executives who are each putting prices on the other's head, constantly trying to outbid the other. Alex is in desperate need of money due to the lack of work flowing into his hitman for hire business.
He's been abandoned by the Taskmaster and Outlaw and the only one he has left is Sandi, who is rarely around anymore and of very little use as a professional killer. A rookie hitman tries to take Alex out in order to thin out the competition, but Alex survives and vows to get the bounty for himself and show all the other hitmen who the real bad ass is.
While the issue is entertaining, I'm glad that it didn't turn out to be the last one, as it leaves too much unresolved. Mainly, the biggest mystery of the title- whether or not Alex is really the former Wade Wilson aka Deadpool.
I guess I can understand the writer not wanting to answer a question that is really best suited to be answered by the title's original creative team. The art isn't as appealing as the last issue's artist, and certainly a far cry from UDON, but it at least gets the job done.
With the new issues coming out, this issue looks to become one that will be overlooked in the future and not really thought of that much. Even though the comic has no real relevance in the long-term plotline of Agent X, it's still flat out entertaining which is the reason I fell in love with Deadpool and Agent X to start with.
Recommended
7/10
Batman #616
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Jim Lee
As we enter Chapter Nine of the "Hush" story arc, I can barely even remember how the damn thing began. I do think that this arc has been pretty damn entertaining and has revitalized the stale character of Batman, sending him from the bowels of the best-seller list straight to number one.
However, that doesn't stop me from feeling that it's just too damn long. There's been far too many issues for the small amount of plot development that has occurred, but perhaps it's best that I shut my mouth and just enjoy the comics. After all, even if they do drag it out it's still the most fun I've had reading Batman since No Man's Land.
At the end of Chapter Eight, Batman decided that he needed to look into Ra's al Ghul as a possible suspect in the murder of his best friend and the cause of the other shit that has been going bad in his life. This leads him to North Africa where he has yet another confrontation with the swordsman villain, who promises to help him on his investigation if he can best him in battle.
The issue also continues to build on the new relationship between Batman and Catwoman, with Batman placing more trust in Selina as an ally and someone he can turn to. Lastly, the issue expounds upon the sudden appearance of Harvey Dent in the last issue, formerly known as Two Face. Is Two Face the culprit behind all of this ,or is he just another pawn in a much larger game?
No questions are really answered in this issue, but clues are provided that make me eagerly anticipate the last remaining chapters.
Jeph Loeb has done a great job on this issue, which is to be expected of him if you've read the whole arc. Not just with the story though. The dialogue he writes for the characters is always fresh and always in character.
He makes the same rogue's gallery of Batman villains that we've seen for years feel like new characters sometimes. Jim Lee's art is exceptional as always, and I'm glad that he and Jeph Loeb have signed on to do another story arc after Hush. The longer Jim Lee stays in mainstream comics the happier I'll be.
One last thing of note: a new clue is provided about the true identity of the master villain at the end of this issue, which is sure to get the fanboys buzzing. It leaves a lot of potential culprits, both living and dead. Although we all shudder to think of the possibilities, it even leaves the door open for a certain decomposing boy wonder, but I seriously doubt that they would go that route.
Highly Recommended
9/10
Born #1
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Darick Robertson
It's no secret that the Punisher has been sucking as of late. What was once a must-read Marvel title has become near-garbage. I think that the problem with the series at the moment is the lack of primary artist Steve Dillon, who frequently teams up with Garth Ennis.
I think Garth Ennis puts a lot more work into his comics whenever he's working with Steve, and the last few issues have shown a huge lack of effort. Hopefully Dillon will come back from vacation soon and redeem the normal Punisher series.
In the meantime, Punisher fans have had this ORIGIN-style MAX series to look forward to, detailing Frank Castle's tour of duty in Vietnam. It doesn't fit continuity wise these days with Frank's age, but it's a Garth Ennis war story!
If you've read the war stories in Preacher, then you've got a good idea as to what this issue is going to be like. The actual war scenes are typical Ennis style, and don't skimp out on the violence.
The story is told from the perspective of Stevie Goodwin, a young soldier in Captain Frank Castle's platoon. Unlike some other war-hungry soldiers, Goodwin thinks only of getting back home and counts off the days until he gets to get onboard that plane and leave.
Stevie is confident that he'll survive until then, because Captain Castle has never lost a soldier in any of his groups. Captain Castle is one of the army's best soldiers, and a man hungry for war, a man who delights in battle. Castle seems to find this hellish jungle to be his home, but it seems that he'll soon be forced to leave this war.
I didn't think it was possible, but this origin story actually makes Frank Castle out to be an even darker character than he was before. It's hard to imagine Frank Castle as a devoted family man after reading this one, and it makes me think less of the current Punisher character and his self-righteous crusade.
After seeing his origin, you might think that the Punisher might need punished for his misdeeds as well. Ennis delves into some disturbing territory with this one, and he's just getting started. I can't wait to see the next issue to find out how far Frank Castle will go to keep his war and his life.
Robertson does a commendable job with the art, but I still can't help wishing for Steve Dillon no matter how good he is. If you're interested in the Punisher even a little bit there's no reason why you shouldn't pick this one up.
Recommended
7/10
Catwoman #20
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Cameron Stewart
Catwoman has easily become one of the most underappreciated titles on the market today. It's very different from most of the other comic books on the market, making it the black sheep of the Batman books in the same way that X-Statix is the red-headed stepchild of the X-books.
The comic takes a different approach in the way it handles story arcs and in its art style. Unlike most comic books where the superheroes save the day every time and any character developments and problems are forgotten about once a story arc ends, Catwoman doesn't let any of the characters get off scott free and forces them to deal with the consequences of their actions.
After dealing with the fallout from the last story arc, Selina and Holly decide to get away from it all for a while and take a road trip. Their car breaks down along the way, providing a great moment in which we see that although she's technically a hero these days, Selina isn't above resorting to her old tricks when it best suits her.
The first stop on the road trip is an old farm which Selina owns. Selina brings in an old superhero acquaintance to help train Holly to better defend herself from attackers and to be a fighting machine, although Holly insists that she isn't going to become a sidekick.
At night, Selina and the superhero trainer do their whole superhero duty, which leads them into a mysterious museum robbery by Middle Eastern criminals who look like they were pulled straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's nice to see some Catwoman action after being deprived of any superhero ass-kicking for the past three issues.
While I enjoyed the comic, I can't help but feel that parts of it were really worthless. Sometimes it feels like the superhero segments of the book are set up just to provide an opportunity for the heroes to wax philosophical on various subjects.
After a crime fighting caper is over, it sometimes fails to have any meaning in the long run and makes me wonder why I even read it. I guess that's to be expected though. In the life of a superhero, every bank bust or fight with a criminal isn't going to lead into a larger conspiracy or plot. Sometimes things are just as simple as they appear to be.
Fans of the current volume of Catwoman won't be disapointed by this issue, but I don't think it's a good jumping on point for the rest of the comic readers.
Worth a Look
6/10
The Losers #1
Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Jock
I wasn't really impressed by the preview of this comic that was in 100 Bullets, but I'm glad that I ignored my first impression and picked it up anyway. It's always best to give a new Vertigo title the benefit of the doubt.
After reading through the comic, it's obvious as to why they would put the promo in 100 Bullets. If you are the type of person that 100 Bullets appeals to, you absolutely have to go out and get The Losers.
100 Bullets and The Losers feel remarkably similar in terms of plot, but if I were to explain why then it would sort of ruin the underlying plot of 100 Bullets for people who haven't had the chance to read it yet. The plot of The Losers centers on a group of ex-CIA operatives who were arranged to be assassinated by an exploding helicopter.
As far as the CIA is concerned, the killings went off with out a hitch, but they don't know that none of the operatives were on the chopper at the time of the explosion. Now the group is considered dead by the government and is looking to exact revenge without revealing themselves. After all, they've got nothing else to lose.
The focus of the first issue is on a particularly elaborate scheme cooked up by the group to hijack a heavily protected shipment of cargo. There are a lot of steps and layers to the plot, so it kind of feels like a crime caper movie such as Ocean's Eleven. The last part of the book deals with the fallout when the mystery of what's in the cargo shipment is revealed.
The Losers doesn't feel as fresh as other recent Vertigo books like Fables and Y-The Last Man, but that's because of the grounded genre that it takes place in. It's hard to do something in a crime drama book that hasn't been seen before.
Its heavy relation to 100 Bullets could become a hindrance or a blessing depending on who you ask. The plot is a lot more streamlined than 100 Bullets and is much more accessible to the majority of readers.
Those who really like the more intricate plot of 100 Bullets, however, may feel that The Losers is too derivative. Whatever group you think you'll belong to; you still need to at least give the first issue a shot.
Recommended
7/10
Mystique #3
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Jorge Lucas
Out of Marvel's new Tsunami line, Mystique was the title that I was most questionable about. I already had a good idea which titles I thought would be good and which ones would suck, but I really couldn't make up my mind on this one.
I'm glad to report that Mystique has turned out to be one of the best of the new line and one that I hope sticks around for a long time. It's funny that after enjoying Mystique's exploits as an X-villain throughout the years that I wouldn't want to see her get her own comic, but I think I was afraid that they would turn her into a hero or change her character in some way.
Instead, the writer kept Mystique's attitude of only being concerned about herself and changed other characters in order to get her to do heroic deeds, making do-gooders Professor X and Forge out to be the bad guys in this series.
Since New X-Men began, Xavier's character has developed more than it has in almost ten years. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty these days or do something underhanded. In the case of Mystique, he would rather manipulate and send in a villain to do his dirty work for him than to risk losing one of his own.
I think it's a pretty interesting aspect to his character. Mystique is just as devious and unwilling to fight the good fight as ever, but is thrust into a situation in which she has no choice but to help Xavier out. Xavier wants to destroy a pair of advanced sentinels formerly owned by the Soviet Union during the Cold War that have been sold to Cuba as a protective measure against mutants.
However, Xavier can't send his X-Men to destroy it because he's been forbidden to interfere by the government, and because he wants to eventually form an X-Corporation in Cuba and destroying their sentinels would reduce the chances of that happening. Therefore, his new plan involves using the shape-shifting skills of Mystique to make it appear that the Cuban sentinel program was brought down by the inside.
After a lengthy bit of set-up for this title, the action and espionage action is starting to appear. We don't get to see much of it this issue, which ends on a cliched note which left a bad taste in my mouth and soiled an otherwise great issue, but it definitely hints at some great stuff to come in further issues.
Her character hasn't been compromised in any way, and I don't see this series going to way of the Venom solo-series, in which a great villain was turned into a shitty anti-hero.
Recommended
8/10
Runaways #3
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Adrian Alphona
Hey, it's another great Tsunami title and hey, it's written by the same guy as Mystique! It's too bad Vaughan can't write all the Tsunami titles. Hell, he could probably even make the new Namor series worth reading.
If you're unfamiliar with the concept of Runaways, here's the main gist of it in a nutshell: every year a group of adults hold a meeting and drag their kids along. The kids have no idea why their parents get together once a year, and really don't like each other much. They decide to spy on their parents and figure out just what the hell they're doing.
They discover that their parents have double lives and are all really part of a super villain group and are plotting the downfall of the world. They all make the conscious decision to runaway from their parents until they can decide what to do about the whole situation.
The newest issue details the continued efforts of the runaways to turn up evidence that proves their parents are super villains, and find it they do. There are actually two big revelations in this issue, the second of which kind of annoys me. I really enjoyed the human aspect of the comic the most.
These kids know that their parents are evil, but they're totally powerless and unable to stop them. I just fear that the introduction of real super powers in this comic could ruin this part of the comic. Hopefully Vaughan won't be giving out super powers willy nilly to the rest of the cast. As it stands, I can stand one super powered kid in the mix and can see the potential that this has.
This doesn't look to be a comic that will be accessible to people who haven't been with it from the start, so I'd recommend getting into this series before it's too late. If you can't track down the first two issues, which really shouldn't be that hard, Marvel will be issuing a collection of the previous issues earlier in the year, just like they're doing with the other great Tsunami series, Sentinel.
It's a lighthearted comic, but it'll still entertain you. It should be fun to watch this series play itself out. The end of this issue hints that the next few issues are really going to turn up the heat, so you really should get into it right away.
Recommended
8/10
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