Worst to first: 1/10/07

Not a great week. Only five books, and one was really from last week, just missed it on the shelf. I’d been hoping to check out Nightly News from Image, but my shop hardly stocks any Image, so I guess I’ll just have to add it to the pull list for next time around. Now, here goes, from the worst book I picked up to the best…

Five: Welcome to Tranquility #2

I really liked the first issue of this, but the quality dropped off here. The new characters that Simone introduced weren’t as funny as the ones from the first issue, and the herky jerky narration (needlessly interrupted all over the place with insertions that weren’t funny) kept the plot from developing. There were some funny moments, but it felt like a creative team trying too hard.

Four: 52 #36

Things sure have been picking up, but any time the focus shifts to outer space, my attention shifts to something outside of comic books. Yawn. Animal Man’s death was treated with a bit of silliness, which might have offended me had I much interest in him. The worst was the continued breaking-the-fourth-wall with Lobo via Lady Styx’s criticisms of him. And all the writers ended up doing was reaffirming Lobo’s inherent worthlessness. Looks like next issue will be wild, at least.

Three: Green Arrow #70

Come back Saturday for thoughts, as this is our choice for Book of Doom.

Two: Uncanny X-Men #482

This series is a really fun, intense space epic, at least on par with Claremont’s forays with the Shi’ar. We see the Starjammers here and the battles get heated. Corsair takes the news about Vulcan (who’s gone pretty well ignored lately, which might not be a bad thing) exactly as you’d expect a father to. What amazes me about Ed Brubaker is how each of his books are written so wildly different, each time his style adapting to the subject matter. To me, that’s far more impressive than having a distinctive “voice,” no matter how good that voice. A last note: Darwin is a really great character. I think in many years we’ll be looking at him as one of the core X-Men. Unless he’s killed off here. But then, he seems like the easiest character ever to bring back from the dead.

One: Agents of Atlas #6

A few pages into this book, I thought the disrupted narration was just a trick to cover up the lack of a good conclusion to this miniseries. I was wrong. Writer Jeff Parker takes our expectations and twists them, managing a finale that’s entertaining, satisfying and that leaves a broad door open to the return of some great characters to the Marvel U.

If you missed this series, pick up the trade.