What I Read This Week

Blackest Night #3 -- We learn some more about the Black Lanterns and the War of Light, as the undead version of the Justice League tries to add Barry Allen and Hal Jordan to their ranks.  Johns and Reis hit this one out of the park, but I am on board with whatever they are doing at this point, it would seem.  Great fun seeing Ray Palmer once again as the Smartest Man In The Room (just like Slott has done with Hank Pym).  Question: Would Black Lantern Conduit have his power suit?

Outsiders #22 -- "The Hunt" continues as Metamorpho and Geo-Force shake down a small mining town in Wyoming for Clayface!  Tomasi and Pasarin turn in some Bronze Age-style awesomeness, continuing the trend started last issue of a "done in one" which has connective tissue to the other parts of the story.  I wish more ongoing comic books were of this style, because it is pretty much perfectly suited to the medium.  

Showcase Presents: Warlord v.1 -- I didn't read this yet, obviously, but I wanted to say OMG THIS BOOK IS GORGEOUS IN BLACK AND WHITE.

Warlord #6 -- I did get the new issue of the Warlord comic, though, and got to read it too!  The battle against the "golden god" has begun and not all of Morgan's allies may make it out of this fight alive!  Grell has re-set the stage for his epic S&S tale in enjoyable fashion with this arc, and Chad Hardin's work may not evoke Grell's pencils but his stuff still looks great.  About the only complaint I have is that there are a lot of characters to keep track of, and it cane be confusing as to who is where sometimes (where was Shakira at the beginning, for instance?), but that'sa quibble.

Tiny Titans #20 -- The truth, the HOLE truth, and nothing but the truth about Raven!  All I have to say about this comic is "AWW YEAH CRAYONS."

Wednesday Comics #11 -- Stories are starting to wrap up, but this awesome event keeps on trucking.  The highlight is no doubt Aquaman helping Hawkman fight a T Rex.

Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom #1 -- Eddie Brock used to be a monster, but people can change.  Sometimes.  Zeb Wells, who handled the writing chores on the very good Venom: Dark Origin miniseries last year, has a really good handle on Eddie Brock even under his new persona of Anti-Venom.   Paulo Siqueira's art is not cartoony like Angel Medina's was on that previous story, but it still suits the character and goings-on quite nicely.  (My only beef: Anti-Venom is drawn as being of medium build, like Spider-Man typically is, whereas the Eddie I know was a big, hulking dude.  But I don't mind it too much.)  The colors may be reversed, but this reads like an old Venom mini from back in the day, which is exactly what I want from it -- even down to having a guest star pop up.  Maybe this is the first of a series of miniseries for Anti-Venom?

Ultimate Comics: Armor Wars #1 -- In the wake of a tidal wave which has wiped out most of New York, Tony Stark has to make his way to his Manhattan lab and retreive a certain object -- but the Ghost has beaten him to it!  I am not a big fan of the Ultimate Universe -- in fact, I downright dislike it.  But I decided to give his mini by Warren Ellis and Steve Kurth a shot, and was pleasantly surprised.  U-Tony Stark is a very over the top sort of character, but his adventure looks promising enough for me to pick up the balance of the series.  Kurth's art is strong on armor and cityscapes, but not as good on faces and human anatomy -- but honestly, armor is more important here.

War Machine #9 -- It's War Machine and the old West Coast Avengers vs. Ultimo!  And if that isn't enough, Norman Osborn is thrown into the mix!  Pak's definitely got a story to tell here, and just when it seems everything has wrapped up, it pinballs into a new (but not illogical) direction.  It's a fun action story with plenty of carnage depicted pretty nicely by Allan Jefferson, who is well suited to this sort of action.  Plus: we get a cameo from Wonder Man.  Minus: He has no lines.

Re-Read Pile: Blackest Night, Outsiders, Warlord, although pretty much everything could have made the Re-Read Pile this week.

The Pick Of The Pile is Blackest Night, although the current storyline Outsiders is pretty much everything I want from comics.

So, what did YOU read this week?