What I Read This Week Part I

Well, I got my comics from last week today, and even managed to read of few of them on my lunch break!

Blackest Night #5 -- In Coast City, Nekron has risen, bringing millions of willing slaves with him.  Can the alliance of the seven spectrums of light destroy his Black Lantern Battery and end this threat forever?  This issue does suffer from some catch-up-itis, as various plots from the tie-in books are given nods as an assist to readers only getting the main title (like yours truly).  But instead of wallowing in the information dump, Geoff Johns moves quickly to the next story beat, and things somehow manage to get even worse for our heroes by the end of this one.  Reis's pencils are fantastic, and Alex Sinclair's colors are moody and energetic.  This series has been superb so far and it has not shown any signs of stopping.  (By the way, good job by DC to get Flash: Rebirth #5 out before this one!)

Image United #1 -- In Chicago, the newcomer Fortress witnesses the Dragon and Youngblood battling the cybernetic mob enforcer Overtkill, while all across the country super-powered baddies are running wild.  But what does this rash of random violence have to do with Fortress's vision of the future where the heroes make a final stand against an unseen enemy?  There's not much story here from Kirkman, but this, folks, is an Image book.  At least, in so far as what "Image book" means to folks like me, who still remember the 1992 launch.  The fights are big and bombastic, the colors and costumes are straight out of the Nineties, and I have no idea who half of the characters are.  But it works in it's own way, as one part jam piece and one part apocalyptic crossover.  I may be biased, but Jim Valentino's stuff holds up the best, although honestly, Liefeld's posing may be suspect but his anatomy has improved quite a bit since I last read a book by him.  Even as someone who hasn't read an Image book other than Drawing From Life since last decade, this is a fun flashback which I am looking forward to checking out.

Re-read Pile: Blackest Night, Image United.

The Pick Of The Pile is Blackest Night, although I enjoyed both of these comics for different reasons.

Tomorrow hopefully I will have the rest of the pile red, including The Web #3 and Futurama Comics #46.  Unfortunately, I was unable to get a copy of Justice League: Cry For Justice #5, as it sold out at my shop and apparently I did not have it on the pull list.