Well, it’s that time again, and here are reviews for some of last week’s comics!

DC Comics

52: Week Eleven
Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid and pencilled by Joe Bennett, Todd Nauck, Jack Jadson and Marlo Alquiza

If you watched the news at any point during the month of June, you’ve probably heard of DC Comics’s newest super-heroine, Batwoman. While this normally wouldn’t make news broadcasts, the fact that she’s a lesbian certainly would. And did, as you may or may not have noticed. Regardless of what you think of this new take on Batwoman, you can’t spit in DC’s face for trying something different.

Why do I bring all this up? Because this is the issue in which she first appears at Batwoman (she appears as her alias, Kate Kane, in an earlier issue of this series). If you’ve been out of the DC Comics loop for a while, DC just finished one of their most ambitious crossovers a little while back, Infinite Crisis. 52 tells several different stories taking place between the end of Infinite Crisis and the “One Year Later” time-jump that DC Comics made immediately following the mega-event.

The majority of this issue deals with the story surrounding Batwoman. Former detective Renee Montoya and the Question are looking into Intergang’s possible expansion (or invasion) into Gotham City. It also has a smaller segment dedicated to Ralph Dibny’s (also known as the Elongated Man…I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I’m sure he can elongate THAT) search for the Cult of Conner(CoC). The CoC is a ressurection cult based around Conner Kent (also known as Superboy, who died during Infinite Crisis).

There are so many writers and pencilers on this 52-issue long weekly series that I possibly couldn’t give them credit individually, so I’ll be general here. The writing in 52 is solid and engaging. Some might be jarred by the transition between varying plotlines within issues, but I haven’t found it to be a problem.

The pencils are also very solid. Good anatomical detail and well-told action sequences, along with excellent coloring, make 52 a very attractive book. Some might complain about the number of artists and art-styles used in this book, but why don’t you try to keep a weekly pace with only one or two artists? You’d be behind in no time, so a little variation in style is ok with me.

While reading Infinite Crisis isn’t essential to understanding 52, it’s a good starting point. So after you read that, read 52.

Justice Leage of America #0
Written by Brad Meltzer and pencilled by…too many people to name with a cover by Michael Turner

The Justice League of America, DC’s premier superteam, was broken up just prior to the mega-event Infinite Crisis, but you can’t go forever without a League, so DC recruited writer Brad Meltzer (author of Identity Crisis and a number of novels) to write about the new League and fan-favorite penciller Ed Benes to draw the new League. This issue acts as a great starting point for anyone looking to try and get into the Justice League because it focuses on the three people that truly form the League’s foundation: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

This lead-in issue is very well-written. It takes place in multiple timeframes and shows the relationship between these three essential Leaguers. Meltzer shows he has what it takes, at least in knowledge of the character of these people, to make this new League stick. The dialogue never seems out of place and the story is very well-paced. An excellent relationship story.

The pencilers in this issue all did a goos job. They include Adam and Andy Kubert (who DC just signed exclusive contracts with not too far back), George Perez, Phil Jiminez, Ethan Van Sciver and plenty more. I can’t really complain about any of them. They all contributed good work and they are honestly not in the issue long enough to build any momentum. So kudos all around.

Marvel Comics

ANNIHILATION: Nova #4
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and pencilled by Kev Walker with a cover by Gabriele Dell’Otto

If you’re wondering what ANNIHILATION is, I’m afraid you’ll have to look at my post last week in order to see the summation to this point. In this final issue to Nova’s four-issue lead-in miniseries, Nova and Quasar are trying to simply buy time for the residents of Nycos Aristedes to escape the Annihilation Wave, which was descended upon their planet. This eventually turns into a brief encounter with Annihilus humself. I’ve got to be honest. After reading this issue, I found myself thinking, “How in the world did the Fantastic Four EVER beat this guy?” Seriously though.

Anyway, before I digress, the writing on this book was very well done and the dialogue was excellent. There were several instances in which a verbal tennis match came about, and I do so love a verbal tennis match. I was also surprised with how the writing actually made me care about the Human Rocket, whom I had thought was one of the lamest characters in the Marvel Universe (aside from Speedball) prior to this event.

On the artistic side, Walker’s pencils were very good. The action was intense and easy to follow and his Annihilus would give you nightmares. It’s that creepy. The coloring is really what I want to jump and shout about though. It is the perfect balance of brights and darks for a space-based books, unlike some that were too dark (Silver Surfer) or too bright (Super Scrull). The darkness of space and Annihilus contrasts with the brightness of Quasar, Nova and the myriad number of explosions surrounding the pair. Excellent coloring work.

Civil War #3
Written by Mark Millar and pencilled by Steve McNiven with a variant cover by Ed McGuinness (not shown)

As you may or may not know, there’s a Civil War going on in the Marvel Universe right now. Heroes are divided concerning the issue of superhuman registration. Congress passed a law that required all superhumans to register with the federal government in order to be able to continue fighting crime after the group the New Warriors attached a supervillain group in Stamford, CT, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people and over 60 children. Anyone who doesn’t register is an automatic criminal. Iron Man leads the Pro-Registration side and Captain America leads the anti-registration side.

If this all sounds a little familiar to you, it’s probably because you saw or heard some of the vast amount of news coverage given to Civil War. Joe Quesada, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief and Paul Jenkins, writer of Civil War: Frontline, went on to National Public Radio a while back to talk Civil War. Joe Quesada is even going to be on this Thursday’s edition of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

While this seven-issue series started a little slow, it’s finally starting to gain a little steam. Mark Millar’s writing is quirky but overall as good as ever. The story flows very well, and his dialogue never confuses. I still think his work on Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates is a little better, but he manages to make Marvel’s second major event this year a compelling read.

I wasn’t a big fan of Steve McNiven when I first saw his work on Marvel Knights 4. I don’t know what it was, but there was something inexplicible that I didn’t like about it. However, as I saw more of his work in New Avengers and Civil War, he’s actually become one of my favorites, and his work in this issue is a good reason why. This is probably the best single issue I’ve ever seen him draw. The final splash page alone make me want Marvel to give McNiven a shot at the character displayed on that last splash. The coloring is a little subdued, but I think that goes along well with the concept of a civil war in the fact that here there is no “right” or “wrong” side of the debate. There are simply differences of opinion.

If you want to read one of the most talked about miniseries in years, go grab Civil War. It’s worth your time.

Civil War: X-Men #1
Written by David Hine and pencilled by Yanick Paquette

To be perfectly honest, I don’t see what the X-Men have to do with Civil War. They are already licensed in practice as a result of last year’s House of M and are living at the X-Mansion in what is now similar to a Native American reservation. So why should they care if the popular heroes have to register to fight crime? And that’s exactly the same way Marvel thinks. The X-Men are pretty much acting like a Switzerland in this conflict, though it appears certain people feel stronger towards one way or the other. Anyway, what kicks this issue off is a riot by the 198 (the mutants remaining at the X-Mansion following House of M). The 198 escape with the aid of an old X-Force member, and the four original X-Men still alive (Cyclops, Iceman, Angel and Beast. Jean Grey died a couple years ago) are out to get them back before the government does it for them.

David Hine is a wonderful X-writer, as he proved with last year’s Son of M miniseries, and I wonder why Marvel hasn’t offered him a full-time X-Book yet. He writes very well and uses even the most obscure of X-characters as if they were his own. His pacing is excellent, and he just really seems to understand how the X-Men work. I can’t wait until he gets an X-ongoing.

The pencils here are solid but a little cartoony for my taste. However, Paquette does action sequences very well and his flow is never misunderstood, so you can’t say he tells a poor visual story because he doesn’t.

This is a solid X-mini, but a rather unimportant Civil War tie-in. However, before it’s over, I’m sure it’ll relate more to the Civil War proper than it does now. Definitely pick this up if you’re an X-Men fan though.

Eternals #2
Written by Neil Gaiman and pencilled by John Romita Jr.

This long-awaited miniseries brings the Eternals, created by Jack Kirby (one of the two patriarchs of Marvel Comics. The other is Stan Lee) into the Marvel Universe proper. The Eternals are immortal beings with super-powers, to be blunt. However, over time, most of them have lost their conscious memories of who they are and what their purpose is. This is a story of realization for the Eternals as well as self-discovery.

Gaiman’s writing is very dialogue-heavy thus far in this mini. And while I don’t mind that sometimes, it just seems a little overbearing here. There are also a lot of little bits and pieces of plot that don’t seem necessary at this point. That claim could turn around and bite me, but for right now, that’s how it seems. Hopefully Gaiman picks up a little steam starting with issue three, but for now, his writing is soewhat below par.

Romita’s pencils, on the other hand, are as excellent as ever. His style, which is so grand in scale and larger-than-life, properly conveys the grand nature of the Eternals…when the writing allows it to. Unfortunately, the story is so contained and slow-moving at this point that Romita hasn’t really been able to bust out the grandiose, epic renders that he does so well. But to his credit, Romita still tells a story well visually, and I never found myself wondering what happened due to the art.

To this point, Eternals is a tad bit slow. However, as with any miniseries, it just takes a little time to get to the beef of the story, which I hope Gaiman does in number three. If not, I’ll be more than a little disappointed.

Well that’s all I’ve got for this week! Check me out later!