What 5/11 Comics I Would Recommend

Spoilers ahead!!

Desolation Jones #1



I have seen a few criticisms of this book (including my pal, David Welsh) who point out how this is basically the same type of story Warren Ellis always does.

And they are probably correct.

However, it is also an INTERESTING story, so I do not know how much I can really hold against Ellis.

"Stop telling interesting stories!!"

Should he try to do stories with different types of characters? Should he get out of his own brand of "nurse romances"?

Yeah, probably.

But so long as he is writing nurse romances as good as this comic, I cannot complain.

Also, the art is by JH Williams who, naturally, rules!!!

The story is so familiar that I will not even rehash it for you, other than to say "typical Ellis hero," but the little story ideas mixed in are great. All the little character bits are top notch, and it all combines into a very enjoyable first issue.

Oh, and it has a real sense of density to it as well, very filled with story, which I always like.


Fables #37


Another strong showing from Bill Willingham and the great art team of Mark Buckingham and Steve Leiloha.

This issue shows us Little Boy Blue's impressive assault on the land of the Adversary, as he cuts a path through the bad guys.

Along the way, however, he learns some disheartening news that perhaps someone back in Fabletown was less than truthful about the final fate of villainess.

As a really neat counterpart to the Boy Blue action sequences (which really are neat), Willingham gives us the brain trusts of the bad guys using logic to figure out what Boy Blue is up to. Really cool stuff.

Action Comics #827



I do not like to reuse material, so here is why I think this issue was quite good.

Adam Strange #8



I was really disapointed in this week's Rann/Thanagar War #1 (even Dave Gibbons can let you down sometimes, I see), and it made the cool resolutin of this series a bit bittersweet, as I know what it leads directly into.

One slight problem I had with this issue was the way Diggle killed off the Darkstars. I mean, I would never in a million years expect someone to USE the Darkstars of their own volition. But once you've MADE the decision to use them, don't use them just as cannon fodder. Ron Marz already did so in Green Lantern, and now Diggle is doing so with the three remaining members of the group (including the really cool Darkstar from Valor, who I have been waiting for SOME writer to off for literally twelve years, as he was so cool that I figured SOMEone would kill him).

Still, that is overshadowed by the sheer coolness of the issue. Action-packed while still retaining a sense of intelligence, this series was tons of fun.

Great art by Ferry as well, and man, does Diggle know how to do a last page.

Fun fun fun.

Punisher #21 and Punisher: The Cell





I figure I might as well recommend them both at once (and how smart is it to ship TWO Punisher titles in the same week?!?).

I was disappointed in Punisher #20 (after a strong #19), so I was very pleased to see Ennis get back on track with this strong issue.

Ennis is not afraid to mess with Frank Castle, and he does so quite nicely in this issue, showing us what would happen if the Punisher was pushed over the edge even MORE than normal.

Meanwhile, the Irish terrorist lady is interesting, and even the guy who I think #20 was wasted on was funny this issue.

Good art by Fernandez.

The Cell was chockful of story, which is always fun (especially at a high price tag).

The story is so packed that this could EASILY have been three issues worth of the normal Punisher series, which is how it reads to me.

Lewis LaRosa DRIPS with darkness in the issue (Scott Koblish's inks as well), so it suits the story well, which is Punisher getting himself arrested to take apart the bad guys inside the prison.

All of it is predictable, but handled with such expert flair.

Ennis really OWNS this type of story.

Mary Jane: Homecoming #3



Again, I am not one to rehash stuff, so here is what I liked about this issue.

The following comics I liked well enough, but I would not go as far as to say I recommend them:

Gotham Central #31 - Fairly "by the books", but respectable, ending to this storyline. Nice art.

Astonishing X-Men #10 - The story picked up the pace a lot this issue, which was appreciated. Cool ending, too. Other than that, decent action issue, but I could use an extra bit of oomph to recommend it.

What did y'all think of the week that was?

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