Panel to Panel Reviews

What a weekend, I am glad I finally got around to reading these issues.

Runaways #3- An issue with two cliff-hangers! Loads of action. If you aren't getting this title... well I can't say I blame you. It does have a lot of book. But every character is so easily distinguishable. And let me just say, seek out any issue. That is what I did. And this book was delightful. Did you ever watch the cartoons where the bad guys would team up against the hero(s)... and they would inevitably get power hungry, and screw the plan up. Well there was a breach in the opposing team, and it was the most natural, yet still bizarre turn of events I have ever seen. It may be hard to start up but Runaways is well worth the effort.

Young Avengers #3- This one never fails to make me think. Mostly because it is the last title that I would have expected to. A few more mysteries are resolved. And a huge threat is exposed, and the grown-ups, may have hindered these upstarts from taking down what I can only assume is one of the nastier baddies in the MU. This title has heart, and I am quoting another reviewer in saying that this is one of the better things to come out of Avengers Disassembled... resolution.

Fantastic Four #525- Well damn, I hope Karl Kesel is writing 526. He left me with a heck of a cliffhanger. I only hope that if he is, he ties things up nicely, I have little desire to continue this title without him. This was really fun, it's got the Kesel humor, and just enough twists and turns to make you smile in appreciation. It is not what he is about... but he does it well enough to tell a rather fantastic story. Pick it up if you are as much a fan of Kesel as I am.

Conan #15- This is the longest I have consistently read a Conan book. Which is strange to me now, as this book was readily available when I was a young teen at a local library for free. I was fickle then, I am only aware now that I have this great passion for comics and the only hinderance is a monetary one. This issue is a sort of vacation for the regular artist Cary Nord, and as such it was wonderful in execution. For the duration of the title every seven issues or so another installment into the life of Conan as a boy is told. This is part two. This issue was primal... it becomes exceedingly obvious how soft I am when I read something like this. I have been a boy in this story, the boy Conan crippled, who was content to be a scorekeeper in the children's games... but I yearn to be Conan. Let me just state that a part of this issue is violently graphic... and yet even at the most feral of moments what was the one thing to stop Conan in his tracks ... a woman. Oh sometimes the most classic of tales holds the most truth.

Wolverine #27- Wow, that cover is breathtaking, very much in the vein of Steranko. I will say this for Millar, his epic storylines do captivate. And it was probably the biggest spectacle Arkansas has ever seen (fictional or otherwise). This is another title that I did not start of buying. I jumped in when Millar and Romita Jr. did. I will probably exit the same way. I am not going to recommend this, you can find Wolverine anywhere... but if you are reading it, I hope you are still enjoying it. Non-stop, over-the-top, anxious for the claws to pop action.

Amazing Spider-Man #519- I owe J. Michael Strazynski some huge thank yous for this issue. Spider-Man feels fresh again. There are two things that JMS does exceedingly well, human emotion and realizing epic situations. A story that is both down-to-earth and out-of-this-world. The fact that maybe sometimes the super heroes dress up to razzle dazzle, and that behind all the goodness in people lies an even better people behind the curtains. I would recommend this issue. I also want to pay what I believe is a very big compliment. Mr. Deodato, your art felt like the evolution, of a person who I think is a master of the craft even now, Mr. Gene Colan. Excellent stuff.

Well, that looks to be it for today. See ya Tuesday.