What I Read This Week

Flash #236 -- Mark Waid's rather short return to the character he made me dig comes to a close here, as "The Wild Wests" wraps up in fairly satisfying form. I liked how the main story eventually connected to the Rogers-scripted/Braithwaite-pencilled backup (which also finishes up here), and Rogers' art remains a great fit for the title. Waid is pretty game here, and shows off his skills at writing the Justice League as well as the Flash-clan. I think that this story would have been better off as a four parter, because the middle chapters seemed a little slow compared to the two ends, but overall I enjoyed it alright, and am looking forward to seeing how new series writer Tom Peyer explores what Waid established. The "Fast Life" shorts have been a lot of fun, so I am a little bummed to see them go, but at least they went out on a high note -- I don't think anyone can really complain about these backups, honestly.

Graveslinger #3 -- The Weird Western gets a little odder this time out, and the first thing you notice is the art. Seems that John Cboins, who handled the first two issues has been replaced Nima Sorat, and the change is pretty drastic. Cboins lonesome pencils were really visually interesting to me, while Sorat uses a lot more color and makes the pages "pop." I like both styles, honestly, so I am not complaining per se, but it was a little jarring. The issue itself is a mixed bag. Jeff Mariotte and Eric Denton are certainly game for writing the Old West, but the proceedings come a little off the rails here as the plot meanders to a fairlynon-Weird range war before the undead pop up on the second to last page. Again, it's not that I didn't like it, but the whole thing is a little lackluster. I strongly suspect that this is do to the serailized format. Now, you know that I am not one to champion this idea, but Graveslinger seems better suited to the collected format (or even an OGN) than to single issues. I am definitely going to re-read the entire series once the fourth and final issue comes out, and test my theory.


No Pick of the Pile this week. Both books were alright, but neither was really standout to me enough to apply the title.

So what did YOU read this week?