Where we're at: Part 2

Going to work at getting this finished even though I realize now that we weren't quite half-way through before. Well, here goes:

1. Generation Hope -- Okay, I've knocked Kieron Gillen a lot here. I'm not sold yet. But, this book turned a corner when it go some new folks on the art and has started to improve. His work on Journey into Mystery and even Uncanny has been solid. I'm going to give it another try. The Teon solo issue was really quite good and explained a seemingly unidimensional character in a complex way that made him more identifiable and much deeper than before. I'm starting to like this book ok. The Schism tie-in from last week was strong.

2. Hellboy -- Always exciting when Mignola is writing and Corben is doing the art. I love Richard Corben, period. There is big payoff at the end of The Fury that is unlike anything we've seen for Hellboy universe characters in a very long time. I can't wait to see what comes next.

3. Invincible -- I finally dropped this book. It was one of the great indie superhero books of all time for around 50 issues. Kirkman's focus must have been overtaken by the TV show and his executive producing requirements, because the book has simply fallen into disrepair. The dialogue has fallen off and the attention to plot details has stalled. I'm sorry to see it go, but I vote with my pocketbook on things like this.

4. Iron Man -- Still great. I can't believe that just a few years after Civil War I like Tony Stark again. Let's be honest: he was the "villain" of that storyline. And he was a villain to Cap, which is a real bad guy, you know? But, today, largely due to Fraction's writing, I like the man in the armor again and I love this book. The American Steel storyline wasn't the finest hour for this book, but the Fear Itself dwarf issues have been great. IM looks like a real hero again, but with some pathos we can identify with for a billionaire genius drunk. I really like the direction of this book. More Pepper, please.

5. Iron Man 2.0 -- A lot of people think Nick Spencer is the 2nd coming. I'm not ready to give him the keys to the kingdom just yet, but his work on this book has been very good. I like Rhodey. I like that some of the Immortal Iron Fist characters are showing up in here (like the other Immortal Weapons, all of whom are cool) and that it's generally a 70's revival book. It's just cool. I think this book is really promising and deserves a bump in profile and sales.

6. Iron Age -- Meh, not what I was hoping for. Some of it is cool, but it's mostly a trashy gimmick book. I've been pretty clear that I'm a sucker for 70's Marvel, and they've been really pushing that era's products, but this book is just not really very good. I wanted it to be; I really did. Not recommending.

7. Justice titles -- Dropped. Dead. I'm getting the Johns/Lee book, but they're not going to be on it for long and we all know that. I suspect 6 issues. If we get to 12, it will be a treat. I'm not holding my breath.

8. Kick-Ass 2 -- Well, the 3rd issue just came out 9 months later, so there's that. Who knows? I'm sure it's good, but buying the loose issues in this is doing nothing for me really. Should just have collected it in trade. Oh Millar, you rich bastard.

9. Where is Warren Ellis? No, seriously, someone find him and make him write a comic book. Sorry, just a quick aside.

10. Mighty Thor -- Really a great book. Fraction and beautiful art. This is really the Volstagg book, and that is not a bad thing. I still say that one of the many Thor universe books should be an Oeming book, but I'm happy with what Fraction has done on these books. I bet he's mighty (no pun intended) proud of them too.

11. Moon Knight -- WTF. Moon Knight, in a book, and it doesn't suck. I'm still a little confused by all of the turning into other superheros or at least looking like them thing (I get that he has multiple personalities, but is that an art trick or a real thing?), but I still like this book. Because of the art, which I love, it reminds me of Alias, and that was a great time for comics, Bendis, and Marvel in general. Good read.

12. Mystery Men -- David Liss, writer of Black Panther and pulp novels, on a pulp era Marvel backstory using characters we don't know about yet. I'll say it: he's not ready. This book isn't bad, The villain seems cool. Some of the plot devices seem ok. But the general tone of the book is too mellow and the dialogue is, frankly, boring. Not a real winner. Could be looked back on fondly one day if Liss makes something of himself, but today it's not really doing work.

13. New Mutants -- Is it 1989? Why am I reading about Dani and Illyana? Oh right, because Abnett and Lanning are writing it. This is a pretty solid book. I like the idea that it's their job to clean-up all of the X-Men's hanging plot threads. HA! Good luck. Hope you guys signed a long-term contract. The recent Nate Grey arc was pretty tight. I think Candyman is super lame, but I liked this arc, I'm liking the characters, and I think the book is promising.

14. Journey Into Mystery -- Aforementioned. It's pretty good, actually. As terrible as Gillen's run on Thor was, and it was the worst major Marvel book for a few months, this story is solid. Kid Loki is just great. He's like tiny evil. And you know he'd going to pork the heroes eventually, but just like watching Lex screw everyone over in Action Comics with Cornell was great, so is this book about Loki boning Mephisto and Hela. Really enjoyed it so far.

15. Powers -- Is this book, what, quarterly now? I get that you're busy making the TV show, but get with the program or put the book on hiatus and let people know. I never have any idea what is going on when I'm reading these, honestly. Too far spaced out. Looking forward to the FX series though. Should be epic good.

16. Punisher -- Yessssssss. A standard Marvel U Punisher where he isn't a monster, just an avenging angel. Welcome back Greg Rucka. Issue one was awesome. Best Punisher in a long time, like since the first arc of Aaron's Max series. Maybe even better than that. Time will tell. This is a must-buy book though. Rucka has done some of the decade's best comic book work, and Punisher promises to be up there.

17. Punisher Max -- Aaron and Dillon. It's a dream team. Maybe they'll re-launch Preacher next. This book is always great because you can tell that Aaron is dreaming up awful shit to happen to Frank just because he knows that Dillon can deliver it is horrifying detail. I love Dillon's facial expressions. He's just a master. Read this book.

18. Deadpool Max -- This book is a take on Deadpool that I just cant get enough of. Being told from the standpoint of the sidekick character that they've invented is a strong plot device, since the story from the inside of Deadpool's brain has been over-done. I enjoy this book and especially Kyle Baker's art.

19. Secret Avengers -- Is it written by Ed Brubaker? Yes. Then it is awesome. Is it super secret spy stuff w Steve Rogers? Yes. Awesome. Does it have a bunch of badass chicks and War Machine? Yes. Then it is awesome. Adding the Prince of Orphans is almost unfair. God I love the Immortal Weapons and the Iron Fist universe. I am so pumped about him getting his own book back soon. Ok, this book rocks. Must read.

20. Secret Warriors -- The best book of the last 2+ years, barring none. It's over now, so start your reading, complete collection people. Prepare to freak out. Hickman, this is no exaggeration, might be the best of this crop of immensely talented comic book writers we're reading today. This is no knock on talents like Brubaker, Fraction, Bendis, Millar, Ellis, Morrison, Johns, Aaron, and others, but Hickman is crazy. Every word he puts on paper is awesome. I am floored at his talent. This is the best Nick Fury book since Steranko. The ending is fantastic and deserving. Hopefully they're back sooner rather than later.

21. S.H.I.E.L.D. -- This book is so weird. Still, I'm drawn to every panel, every image, every word. I suspect it will be studied intently when it is done for clues as to where the Marvel U is going for many many years. The secret ancient history of the Marvel U is here! And it's in Jonathon Hickman's able hands. Beautifully rendered, expertly narrated, love it.

22. Red Wing -- Hickman's new mini. Has a Fear Agent turn to it. Space faring time travel. Generational battles. Identity crisis. Has a real Pax Romana feel to it. Does anyone get the sense that Hickman is really struggling with some quantum mechanics and identity issues? Fortunately, being a science nerd, I love this type of stuff. It feels very cutting edge/bleeding edge of philosophy of science to me, which excites me deeply. Everything he writes is so awesomely well done.

23. Strange Adventures -- Wow. That's all. This is a one-off book that everyone has to read. Some day it will be impossible to find. You should get one while you can. A lot of industry names doing sci-fi short stories. It's very 70's anthology-like and contains excellent little tidbits of great work. Only one bad story out of like 10 is pretty good. A+. Best single book I've read in a long time.

24. Strange Tales -- Indie artists and writers on major Marvel products. I love it. I don't read a lot of indie stuff, really. I get some graphic novels by certain folks I know I can trust. But a lot of it I just expect to be sad bastard stuff, so I shy away. This is a forum for those lesser known talents to mess around in the Marvel sandbox and it works. Works like a charm. Strongly rec.

25. Superboy -- Jeff Lemire. I have to admit, looking at Sweet Tooth, I expected it to be trash and I didn't expect anything from his run on Superboy except a couple of issues, and bad ones at that. I read Sweet Tooth, I like it, and I love this. He gave Superboy a little core of friends with roles to play in his adventures. He is developing a relationship with some mainstay DC villains. He produced a big picture story from an obscure old villain that will now have a strong connection to Conor. I really really like this book. 2nd best DC book on the racks. Only Action Comics is better.

26. Supergirl -- No consistent creative team is killing a promising book. Both of the last two teams (Sterling and the guy that followed him) did solid work. The new team might too. But they're rolling the dice. Supergirl is not a strong product conceptually. If you have a team getting the job done, keep them around for a few arcs. The inconsistency here is just going to harm the book long-term. Who is excited about Michael Green taking over after the new 52 starts? Right, no one.

27. Superman -- Out of frying pan, into the artist as a writer. Straczynski to Perez. I don't know what to say. Maybe they just hate this book. Maybe no one wants to write it. I dunno. But J. Michael has been bad and I expect worse from George. What is the deal with DC's love for ancient writers? Byrne, Levitz, Marz, now Perez. These doods are not the answer to Marvel's exclusive contracts. What is the answer? Get some Warner Brothers money and pay the people. Follow the Image books, see what's working, and snatch up their talent. Jonathon Layman of Chew fame is still out there. You should go after him. But, new 52 Superman is promising to be a lame follow-up to the existing lame book. Cancel it.

28. Spider-Man -- He's back, baby. After a few years of floundering stories and like 100 issues a year, ASM is back in the hands of Dan Slott writing a bi-monthly big arc w Humberto Ramos on pencils. Spider-Island seems like a pretty cool idea, even if some dood named the Jackal (who I've never even heard of) is apparently the impetus for it. I'm looking forward to some of the spin-offs too, especially Cloak and Dagger, a couple of my favs from the 80's (and written by Nick Spencer).

29. Thunderbolts -- Yeah, very yeah. Jeff to the Parker. I left him off of that list of awesome writing talents, but he belongs on there. He's really strong. This book is a top 10'er. Interesting characters who aren't overexposed (except Cage, who is everywhere, I presume because he is black and Marvel is pushing diversity). Great pencils, for the most part (some switching up lately). Strong story-driven tales. Great multi-plotline stories. There's a lot to like here. I think it's Marvels best non-Avengers team book, and that is including ALL X-Titles.

30. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents -- Like I've said, I'm not crowning Nick Spencer just yet. This book wasn't terrible, but it was very mundane. I think maybe that's what people think is so impressive about him. He tells a Bendis like "between the panels" story. But he is no Bendis. He is overusing dialogue and under-using breakdowns. He is working with an artist here who is, frankly, just better than he is. And he is drowning in it. It's hurt the book. I've dropped it, just like I did with his creator owned Morning Glories.

Ok, well, I know I'm short all of the Ultimate line, Walking Dead, and the Feared and Hated crowd, but I promise I will get to them shortly. There is a lot to talk about, obviously, including DoUSM and Schism, so I'll be back soon to do so. I'd also like to talk about the summer movies, esp. X-Men and Cap.