What I Read This Week

The holidays always make these posts so hard.  Good thing we're all caught up.  

Kull #3 -- The hidden threat to Kull's kingdom is revealed as he formally meets Brule the Spear-Slayer, a most remarkable Pict.  Strong S&S which does a good job of giving Kull and his timeline a unique "voice."

Black Lightning: Year One #1 -- Meet Jefferson Pierce, defender of those who can't defend themselves, on a mission to clean up the streets of Metropolis' Suicide Slum.  Oh, and he might become a superhero later.  Meter and Van Hammer detail the revised origin of one of DC's most underrated heroes in a very compelling beginning.

House of Mystery #9 -- Fig and her father try to figure out what the hell is going on, while Miranda's husband wants no part of Harry or Lady Anne.  Also, Cres apparently has something of an odd lovelife, historically.  A great comic book all around.

Sgt Rock: The Lost Battalion #3 -- With the Allies' armor unable to penetrate the Germans' perimeter, it is up to the 442nd to bust Rock and his men out.  More focused and easier to follow than last issue, with a nice cameo by the "Haunted Tank."

Invincible Iron Man #9 -- Gone missin'.  Again.  Marvel's sub service really slows down around the holidays.

Final Crisis Secret Files #1 -- Who is Libra and why has he become the herald of Darkseid on Earth?  See how this Justice League of America baddie from thirty years ago became a true force.  Final Crisis fans should definitely check this one out, but even regular JLA fans will enjoy it as well.

Justice Society of Amreica #22 -- The blowoff to the Gog Saga bows here, as well as tying up the story of the Superman of Earth-22.  Johns leaves it all on the table here -- perhaps too much, as there is a lot going on in not a lot of space.  Still, I liked it even if it could have been better.

STEEL WATCH
After resisting a strike from Gog last issue, Citizen Steel takes the god of the Third World off his feet with a few well-placed punches in the ankle.  Hell yeah!

The War That Time Forgot #8 -- Lt. Carson and the Viking Prince begin to realize that they may have a common enemy, while Col. Jape totally loses it.  No one cares one lick about this book but I have been enjoying it as a fun romp, which is exactly what this issue is.

Guardians of the Galaxy #8 -- The Guardians are still fractured, and each section has their own problems, including Peter Quill being trapped with "King" Blastaar in the Negative Zone!  Fun both as a prologue to War Of Kings as well as in it's own right, this book is simply non-stop.

Venom: Dark Origin #5 -- Retelling Amazing Spider-Man #300 with a few twists, Venom confronts Spider-Man directly for the first time.  Really feels like a throwback to about a decade ago when such Venom miniseries were common, and I mean that in a good way.

War Machine #1 -- James Rhodes is not happy.  In fact, one might say he is mad as hell.  But unlike the rest of us, James Rhodes has a suit of high tech armor, tons of weapons, and an orbiting satelite as a staging ground.  Rip roaring (and highly violent) debut, a perfect fit for the character.  Features some old school Iron Man callbacks as well, nice.

The Phantom #26 -- Guran tells the Walker children about the 13th Phantom battling slavers off the coast of Louisiana in late 18th century.  Neat done in one (something which the Phantom property is well-suited to), but somewhat similar to the last such issue (#20), which also featured art by Zeu and had an older Phantom having a high seas adventure.

Secret Invasion: War Of Kings -- Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans, wants revenge on the Skrulls who imprisoned him, and he is willing to go to any lengths to achieve it.  And after them: the Kree.  If you weren't interested in War of Kings, you will be after reading this insane one-shot.  (Also, check out the War Of Kings Saga freebie, which does a great job of recapping all you need to know to set up this issue as well as the other WOK titles.)

The Pick Of The Pile is Final Crisis Secret Files, which just barely edges out the SI:WOK one-shot.  Both were excellent, though, as were plenty of the comic books this week.

So what did YOU read this week?