Weekly Comic Book Pulls for 11-14-07

Preview: Left on Mission #5
(On-sale: 11/21/07) -- Coming to you from BOOM! Studios, we get the final issue of this remarkably good spy story. Although I guess with this issue, I’d have to describe it as half spy story, half noir. Things come to a messy end and not everyone comes out alive as series lead Eric has a reunion with his femme fatal Emma, as she explains what she’s done. Writer Chip Mosher does a good job making the reader understand what the characters are going though, and paces the story perfectly. The ending becomes very emotional without being melodramatic. Artist Fancesco Francavilla’s work reminds one of Michael Lark or Alex Maleev, with very realistic renditions of the locales, and a good handle on the characters. This has been a very enjoyable story, and if you missed the first four issues, definitely be on the look out for the trade when it comes out. ---4 out of 5
...come see what else Henchman21 has been reading at GEEKS OF DOOM!

Weekly Comic Book Pulls for 9-26-07

In an effort to save time and my own sanity there are several great books out this week that I'm not going to write about, because I have no superlatives left in me. So, just know that Ultimate Spider-Man #114 and Criminal #9 were great, whether you buy them in monthly or in trades, you need to be reading both. Green Arrow: Year 1 #5 still looks great and this issue has more trademark Ollie, with the invention of some of his trick arrows. It's really coming together now, but wait for the trade.

The Spirit #10
To get it out of the way, yes, this is another well drawn and impeccably designed book. Actually, I really need to point out how well thought out the design is. No other book right now is as visually interesting as The Spirit is. This issue has some panels looking like YouTube frames, as the story deals with a serial killer taking out newsmen. My problem with this issue was the story. The mystery was pretty boring, and the reveal at the end is completely out of left field and feels a bit tacked on. And the commentary that Darwyn Cooke was making about the U.S. media was very pedestrian (we know, cable news is more about ratings than actual news, we get it). I like a good smart comic that examines a topic, but this is pretty much a one-sided attack on conservative media figures and it was just boring. Too much space was devoted to making fun of TV personalities and not enough space was given to the actual story to make me care. The art gives the book some redeeming qualities though, so it's not a total failure. --2 out of 5...come see what else Henchman21 has been reading at GEEKS OF DOOM!