A Week in Comics: March 24, 2010

There were a lot of great comics that came out this week, unfortunately I couldn't buy them all. But for the few that I did buy, here are my thoughts on them. Oh yes, there will be spoilers!

Green Lantern #52

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Christian Alamy, Doug Mahnke, Rebecca Buchman and Keith Champagne
Colors: Randy Mayor, Gabe Eltaeb and Carrie Strachan
Price: $2.99

This is it folks. We’re reaching the end of Blackest Night. An event that was set-up over 4 years ago in Geoff John’s “Green Lantern: Rebirth.”

With the zombie-planet™ of Xanshi and millions of Black Lanterns on a collision course with Earth, it’s up to John Stewart and the combined forces of the Blue, Green, Yellow and Red Lantern Corps to hold the line Hal Jordan and the rest of the heroes on Earth deal with the threat of Nekron and the Black Lanterns that are already on the planet.

Oh, and Sinestro is a White Lantern. Like the cover suggested, I was expecting someone else – G’Nort.

Doug Mahnke’s artwork is the strongest it has ever been – from Sinestro obliterating Black Lanterns to a tidal wave hitting Coast City – this is one good looking issue.

The artwork is further augmented by the work of the colorists, giving a nice contrast between the dark scenes involving a group of lanterns within the zombie-planet™ of Xanshi and the bright lit-up scences involving Sinestro.

John’s writing is great as always, having Sinestro at his most pompous by proclaiming that he’s “the center of all.”

Hopefully the release of “Blackest Night #8” on Wednesday won’t disappoint.

The Amazing Spider-Man #626

Writer: Fred Van Lente
Art: Michael Gaydos
Price: $2.99

While this issue is missing “The Gauntlet” that’s been gracing recent issues of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” this is very much part of “The Gauntlet” storyline of re-introducing classic Spidey villains.

This issue marks the appearance of the female version of the Scoprion – and no, she’s not called Scorpia, that’s not-so-completely different female version of the Scorpion.

Scorpion is sent by the wife of dead spidey foe, Kraven the Hunter, to retrieve the old suit that the original Scorpion wore.

Hijinks ensue as the web-head get involved and unknowningly helps further the plans of the people trying to kill him, as well as set a new status quo with roommate/one night stand Michele Gonzales.

On the writing aspect of this issue, Fred Van Lente brings a nice light-heartedness to this issue – a standout was where Spidey temporarily lost his powers and loudly slid down a window while a warehouse full of villains look on.

Although I wish that the conversation between Michele and Peter towards the end of the issue was longer than 1 page – considering that Peter had a one night stand with Michele, The Chameleon dressed-up as Peter and made out with Michele and that Peter doesn’t pay his half of the cable bill.

I haven’t seen much of Michael Gaydos’s art, but his work on here was good. However, some of the action scenes involving the Scorpion were confusing, and some of the character designs seemed a bit too wide and stiff for my taste.

As a whole, “The Gauntlet” storyline has not been a disappointment. We get the return of classic villains, great artwork and some of the best writing I’ve seen on the Amazing Spider-Man. Hopefully the people working on Spider-Man can keep this up after the end of “The Gauntlet.”

Nemesis #1

Writer: Mark Millar
Art: Steve McNiven
Colors: Dave McCaig
Price: $2.99

Mark Millar is quite the commodity these days – his comic “Wanted” was turned into a major motion picture that stared James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie, and his most recent creation “Kick-Ass” is set to be released in theaters on April 16 in the United States (It’s already released in the United Kingdom).

So when I heard that Millar is creating another creator-owned comic, along with artist Steve McNiven (“Civil War,” “Old Man Logan”), I just couldn’t wait.

The pitch alone made me foam at the mouth, it was essentially: what if Batman was a bad guy and giant prick?

Unfortunately, as I read through the first issue of “Nemesis,” I was disappointed. The writing is on par with Millar’s recent work on “Kick-Ass” and “Wanted” (which isn't saying much) but the biggest disappointment was the artwork.

McNiven’s art isn’t up to par with his previous work on “Civil War” and “Old Man Logan.” The background art seems a bit plain and not as detailed as I liked it to be and Dave McCaig’s coloring work just doesn’t do it for me. I loved his work on the “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes” arc of “Action Comics.” But here, he seems a little bit off.

At $2.99 an issue, I’m not sure if I want (or even afford) to pick up the next issue if it's going to be as disappointing as this.