What I Read This Week

GI Combat -- In 1944, in the hills of the French countryside, Lt. Jeb Smith and crew find their M3 in a rivalry with a Lt. Sherman, who commands an M4.  But their rivalry has to go on the back burner to survive a withering German offensive!  Pretty standard Haunted Tank story, but a good one.  The twist ending is clever and somewhat ironically ties tangentially back to the Weird War Tales issue.  Definitely demonstrates the strengths of the Haunted Tank feature.

Star Spangled War Stories -- Mme. Marie parachutes into the French countryside and hooks up with La Resistance... but is the Milice française laying in wait for her?  Possibly the best Mme. Marie story ever written, this has a real 1960s War movie feel to it.  The French Resistance has always been a scenario ripe for stories and this is no exception.  "Live Free Or Die!" indeed.  All in all this was a very enjoyable event from DC and I hope we get more War comics going forward... a quarterly, perhaps?

Namor, The First Mutant #2 -- Back at New Atlantis, underneath the island of Utopia, Namor prepares his people for the worst as the Shallow Peace with the Aqueos has been broken!  Sort of a middling issue.  I liked it alright when I read it but now I have a hard time caring about the X-Men stuff (who the heck is Loa?), although Namor's jab at Emma Frost and her response were great.  I am sticking with this book as I think it has potential, and Olivetti's art (especially the heavies) is growing on me.

Futurama Comics #51 -- After Bender jettisons are the "Human Food" from the ship, the crew finds themselves so desperately hungry that Fry agrees to be the royal chef for the ruling family of Omicron-Persei 8!  I know that doesn't make sense, but it's funny as all heck and really, that's what matters.

The Phantom: Generations Special #1 -- Unfortunately I did not get a chance to read this triple-sized issue, but it looks pretty good from flipping through it!

Flash #5 -- The Rogues versus the Renegades!  With a little bit of Brightest Day thrown in for good measure.  Johns and Manupal are a good pair on this title, and the various Rogue powers on display here give Manupal a chance to flex his pencil.  The dynamics of these characters flow smoothly and easily, and could we be seeing the next version of The Top coming into his own?  Amped up for the conclusion next issue.

Avengers #5 -- While half of the team fights against chaos in the streets of Manhattan, the other half finds themselves trying to stop the timestream from breaking in the first place.  At least this issue is not a rehash like #'s 2 and 3 were, even though we flash back (in a manner) to #2 towards the end.  Just not doing it for, including the continued punking of Iron Man and now Kang as well, a classic baddie.  One more issue and then the subscription runs out; keep an eye out for a cheap set of Avengers #1-6 on eBay!

Darkwing Duck #4 -- Have to wait to get #'s 2 and 3 before I can read this one!

Re-Read Pile: Star Spangled War Stories, Namor, Flash, GI Combat.

The Pick Of The Pile is a tough one, but I am going to go with Star Spangled War Stories, which was just a great little done-in-one which took a fairly forgettable character and gave her a great showcase.