Midnighter
Midnighter fights the dude that stole his shtick for an entire issue, then leaves town (presumably) for good. The issue is basically one long fight scene with some scenes of the background characters and town thrown in. Not bad, but nothing really all that special. The whole thing plays out like the climax to a kungfu movie or something, except that the art doesn’t really convey the action in a particularly dynamic way. I’ve heard the series is ending soon, which is a shame because I like Midnighter, but the whole thing’s been somewhat unfocused. I’m surprised Giffen didn’t have bigger plans, or at least a more obvious arc spelled out.
Secret Invasion
The big event has kicked into full-swing and we spend almost an entire issue in the Savage Land watching the inevitable (but not undesired!) doppelgänger battle. Oh yeah, and a T-rex shows up to spice things up a little. The dialogue is fun, as Bendis does his best to make the old-school heroes sound old school (Power Man keeps saying, “Word!”) and we get a few interesting developments, and the image of a squished Spider-Man. We still don’t know for sure who’s a Skrull and who isn’t, even when their twins get taken out, so there’s plenty of tension and confusion to stretch until the end of the mini-series.
Lenil Yu’s art is nice and clean. I guess someone else is inking him here, because people aren’t as furry-looking as they were in his New Avengers books. He does seem to draw all the old-school women with torpedo boobs, though. I don’t know if that’s a stylistic choice. 
To be honest, there’s a bit of Big Summer Movie going on here, which is giving me worries that this’ll be another Civil War with more splash pages and action than plot and substance. That said, this is a thoroughly enjoyable issue, and I was definitely left wanting more.
Mighty Avengers
I’m feelin’ the Bendis/Maleev magic again. Fury’s recruiting a team of unknowns to train up for the Skrull invasion and we get the comic equivalent of the recruitment scenes from Ocean’s Eleven, minus the Rat Pack. Let’s call them the Caterpillar Pack. It’s an interesting idea, and an interesting collection of kids. I’d say that we should wonder at the idea of putting a bunch of kids on the frontlines in a war, but then I remember, lol X-Men. Charles Xavier is a trailblazer of child employment. Anyway, the book’s great, and feels like a build to something exciting. Hopefully next issue will be the start of that excitement.
Dark Tower
I had originally written a review out for this book, and then I got some weird error and lost everything. What a pain. Oh well.
Overall, this a good book and staying in my purchase category, but I wonder how theyr’e going to wrap it up in the next few issues when they’ve spent most of the series so far wandering around inside of Roland’s brain/Merlyn’s Grapefruit. Bizarre and strange stuff, powered by the moody and surreal art of Lee and Isanove. Favourite scene: Roland meets the Gunslinger.
Moon Knight
After a great start to this new Moon Knight series, I feel like the whole thing is losing its way and is probably due for cancellation soon. This makes me sad, as I love Moon Knight and think he’s a really interesting character. In fact, I don’t know why they’re having such issue keeping him interesting. He’s a more violent version of Batman with multiple personalities! How can that NOT provide for good storytelling!?
Anyway, this issue focuses on the frame job set up on Moon Knight, and Tony Stark stripping Moonie of his superhero registration. It’s well-paced and building towards an exciting showdown, so maybe the book’s turned a corner. I hope so.
Avengers/Invaders
This one’s odd. It’s got some of the best Spidey-banter in a long time, and the concept if fun, but I found the whole thing oddly-paced. It’s definitely got promise, though, and was one of my favourite books this week. I’m not a huge fan of the art, which feels a bit like Epting Liteâ„¢. It’s a bit gritty, but a bit stiff. I think it’ll probably grow on me. Regardless, the book’s interesting, and hopefully the mini-series will explore some of the more interesting possibilities at work here. How will Namor react to meeting himself? What will become of 40s Cap? Will teenage Bucky have something to say to Captain America Bucky or vice versa?
My biggest worry is that this is a time-travel story, which has a higher-than-average chance of going pear-shaped. Fingers crossed that things stay on track!
Logan
This was a strange mini-series. Scientifically, realistically, it made absolutely no sense. Wolverine’s fighting a fire-ghost man that’s the remains of some mutant he met in WW2 that was incinerated in the blast at Hiroshima. What? It’s all a bit metaphysical, and to be honest, the climax of the action makes even less sense, and was oddly anti-climactic.
It sounds like I didn’t like the book, right? Wrong! It’s fucking beautiful, and elegiac, and actually emotional, and makes Wolverine interesting. Fantastic.
Buffy
Dawnzilla. That’s really all you need to know. Buffy and Co. head to Japan and the image on the cover actually takes place. Good stuff. Buffy’s been a solid book and continues to entertain.
Angel
This one started slow, but has worked its way up in my eyes. We’re in the middle of a detour from the conclusion of the main story line in order to check in with other characters for three issues. This is the second issue. To sum up: the psychic floating fish has troubles, Connor meets a really unexpected figure from Angel’s past, and Wesley rejects a false Heaven and gets sent back from his heroic demise to be Angel’s ghostly assistant from The Powers That Be. I’m interested to get back to the real story, but I’m enjoying this look at what’s gone down in Hell.A. This is a good book for Angel fans, especially those that wanted more than the TV series’ finale.
