Offhand Opinions Offload!

Not the best battle cry, admittedly...The key to offhand opinions is it’s a gut reaction with bare bones analysis. I tell you if it’s worth buying in a basic Yes or No situation.

Majestic 1 (Wildstorm)
Abnett/Lanning/Googe/Scott
I was lukewarm regarding the miniseries that just wrapped up a few months ago. This first issue is a completely new direction (and a return to Majestic’s Earth) and it’s a shift for the better. An added bonus, Abnett and Lanning have made Eradicator a fun character for the first time in my recollection.
Yes

Fables 33 (Vertigo)
Willingham/Buckingham/Leialoha
With this issue, Fables replaces Sandman as the best Vertigo ongoing series. And with this one issue, my love of Snow White’s depth of character expands dramatically.
Good stuff all around.
Yes

Angeltown 3 (Vertigo)
Phillips/Martinbrough
The first issue bowled me over. Unfortunately my interest is fading and some of the mature nature (offpanel/implied) action in this issue is confusing and distracting. I hope the team recovers by the next issue.
No

JLA 110 (DC)
Busiek/Garney/Green
Unfortunately, sometimes Busiek has so much to say, he crams his story with too much. That being said, the final page really makes me appreciate where Busiek is going, even though he’s taking longer than I’d like.
No

100 Bullets 57 (Vertigo)
Azzarello/Risso
Am I the only person bored by this comic series? I keep trying to like it, see potential growing and then…well it’s gone. So am I.
No

Green Arrow 46 (DC)
Winick/Fowler/Ramos
This issue screams “editorially mandated use of Titans”. And its fairly clear Winick’s been too busy to read Teen Titans, as he writes Bart Allen as if he was still Impulse. And sadly Fowler has a long way to go to fill the void left by Phil Hester and Ande Parks’ departure.
No

JSA 69 (DC)
Johns/Kramer/Champagne
Color me in the pro-Geoff Johns column when it comes to this series. While agreeing that the violence of last issue (murdering of a baby, albeit offpanel) was too far, Johns story is not unceasingly senseless in its violence as say Identity Crisis.
Yes

New Thunderbolts 4 (Marvel)
Nicieza/Grummett/Erskine
Finally, the creative team has begun to capture the original spirit that this series had at the start. And it helps. Plus, I’m fairly certain I could enjoy a story written by Ron Zimmerman and Daniel Way, if Tom Grummett was drawing it. He’s better than John Byrne in his prime.
Yes

Spider-Man 10 (Marvel Knights)
Millar/Dodson
Make it stop! I helped hype this thing once. And now I’m ashamed. Really ashamed. I’d rather read a Spider-Clone story than another Green Goblin piece of junk like this. And oh look, even better, the over-used and worthless Venom.
No

X-23 1 (Marvel Next)
Kyle/Yost/Tan
Rarely have I read a comic so worthy of the quarter bin.
No

Son of Asgard: Thor 12 (Marvel)
Yoshida/Tocchini/Guru eFX
For many years, writers have used Lady Sif like a prop. I swear in one issue, she was so much of a prop, Thor accidentally used her as Mjolnir. I’m happy to say Yoshida writes a Sif that interests me and is more than a prop.
Yes

New X-Men Academy 8 (Marvel)
DeFilippis/Weir/Ryan
These writers are talented, but sadly this series does not reflect that. Please let the next X-purge come soon.
No

4 #14 (Marvel Knights)
Aguirre-Sacasa/Muniz/Royal/Reber
Aguirre-Sacasa surprises me by writing a rather limp Alicia Masters. And her role is key to this story working.
No

Justice League Unlimited 5 (DC Kids)
Beechen/Barberi/Wong
Honestly, unless a kid’s comic stinks on toast, I can’t help but love it. Blue Beetle without Booster Gold is great. That’s all I need to say.
Yes

Nightwing 101 (DC)
Dixon & Beatty/McDaniel/Owens
Year One or Year Yawn? I vote for the latter. Join us as we go back to the days when Batman was a jackass merely in the service of advancing a plot.
No

Action Comics 823 (DC)
Austen/Reis/Campos
Austen says goodbye to the Superman franchise by pulling out all the stops and writing the worst version of Ma and Pa Kent in a long while.
No

Marvel Team Up: Iron Man & Hulk 4 (Marvel)
Kirkman/Kolins
Another alternate universe invades Marvel proper. Yuck. And yet Kirkman does something with the FF in one scene that made me stop and re-read it. I’m so jaded that rarely happens. So thanks, Robert.
Yes

The Pulse 7 (Marvel)
Bendis/Anderson
Great art, lousy story. The vital signs on The Pulse have never been that strong for me.
No

Spider-Man/Human Torch 1 (Marvel)
Slott/Templeton/Nelson
Templeton does his best Romita Sr. The coloring on this book is amazing and I can’t pinpoint why. But Spidey literally swings off the pages in some panels. Storywise, this is the most I’ve enjoyed the Spider-dynamics since the days of Busiek’s Untold Tales. Slott just gets better with each assignment. Get Slott and Templeton a monthly assignment together already.
Yes