Comics - Aug 2006, week 3!

Figured I should go back to talking about comics at some point, and I'm a little off track from the last few weeks.

Catwoman #58 - Check out that cover. They went from an awesome Lone Wolf and Cub homage to this sexed-up Wheel of Fortune mess. I'm fairly impartial to Zatanna - I don't mind her in a story, but usually she seems very much like a background character. That cover puts her up front, and her costume looks several sizes too small. After a string of great covers, this one is such a miss.

Enough about the cover. The story is a good cap to the recent plot arch. Zatanna still feels like a background character despite her importance to the issue, but it is probably her reluctance to do anything seriously dangerous to fulfill Selina's request. I like how Angle Man retells his past, and how it shows how he has slipped into a low rate villain. Also, Black Mask is dead according to this comic, and not alive as shown in the Man-Bat miniseries (guess which one I am thinking is canon).

The best part, in my opinion, is the way Film Freak 'confesses' his crimes. Not how he interprets the command as crimes against cinema, but the freaking amazing Psycho homage. That made my week. 8.5/10

Street Fighter Legends: Sakura #1 - This came out of nowhere, but it did do for my fix of Street Fighter this month as I wait anxiously for the title to catch up on its release dates.

Firstly, Sakura isn't my favorite character from the series. Despite that, I do know she has the ability to be a fun connection to multiple characters in the franchise - as shown in this issue. She's an upbeat character, and always has been. This issue is fun.

If that isn't enough: This issue has Dan Hibiki and Rainbow Mika. Zangief also towers over everything he's around, but is relegated to comic relief. It also is stuffed with inside jokes and game references. The only thing that set me off a little in this issue was the hyperness of Sakura. I can't blame the writer for that, it's in character. I eagerly look forward to the next issue. 9/10

Manhunter #25 - I'm so glad this isn't the last of Manhunter, but we have to wait till December for more. I wonder if it will just come back as a group of miniseries to be sold whenever. I hope not, but whatever happens happens.

I was really curious as to how they were going to wrap up the Sweeny Todd story line. They built him up to be overly powerful, but they was he was taken out makes comic book sense. Things seemed to wrap up nicely in this issue, and could have easily been accepted as an ending to the title. I especially liked the twist at the very end. 7.5/10

Nightwing #123 - I was surprised with this issue. With the load of crap that has been released recently, this issue was rather decent. Relatively decent, of course. There were still many moments where it was rough, such as my dislike of the two brothers. Speaking of which, why did one of them suddenly develop a temper? Oh well, Dan Didio said things will turn around starting with #125.

What I did like seeing in this issue was Dick finally talking about what happened between him and Barbara way back when he broke things off with her. I thought that little moment of angst was handled well, all things considered. 5.5/10

Shadowpact #4 - Stand alone issue with Blue Devil? I'm game, and it read well. I really lied the two demons speaking in a way to make themselves sound superior, and them taking care of the dragon thing for Blue. 7/10

Poor Booster. He deserved better, but at least he went out with a bang.

Comics!

Transformers: Infiltration #6 - The grand finale to this arch was just as I great as I thought it was going to be, and I'm glad I stayed through till the end. The Autobots appear absolutely helpless, and the Decepticons are at the brink of internal war. Two things to note are Megatron looks to be a tank, and Optimus Prime shows up right on que. There's going to be a break before the next arch begins, called "Escalation" - so you can figure out what will potentially happen. I still wish they'd only have like two different covers, like their other Transformer titles. 8.5/10

Street Fighter II #4 - Holy crap issue four is finally out. It has only taken since the begining of the year for another issue to appear. So was the wait worth it? I have a solid SF bias, so I'd say yes. Gen is featured heavily, as is "Akuma" (I really wish they'd use Gouki), which makes the issue interesting. Gen doesn't get a lot of background outside this comic, so everything helps. The story focuses almost entirely on the background of Gen and Akuma, about their original battle and their rematch. Main: 8.5/10

The backup story deals with Cammy and the rest of Delta Red, mainly about trust issues and such. It is simple and straight forward, and doesn't do anything to advance the main plot. It is interesting, however, and I like the style. Backup: 7.5/10

Green Lantern #12 - It's been a long time since Cyborg Superman had a little action, and it was fun. He even has apparently been taught by the Borg and can use nanobots to control biologicals. Also, figures that Guy gets stuck into a giant Manhunter with all the fun of a parasitic metaphor. 8.5/10

Quickies

Green Lantern Corps #2 - Royal intrigue, galactic lantern fanboy prince, and Mogo. I'm really interested in where this is going. Also, no way in hell Soranik is dead. 8/10

52: Week Ten - Ten weeks and still on schedule. Clark Kent is awesome, and "Supernova" reminds me of Dr. Light. 7.5/10

Green Arrow #64 - Surprise ending! Also, lots of witty banter and Deathstroke has a killer plan in the works. 7.5/10

Tomorrow I'll have more thoughts and numbers...