What I Read This Week

Brightest Day #11 -- Aquaman and Black Manta go toe-to-toe over young Jackson, while Deathstorm (righteous!) begins his reign of terror against Ronnie and Jason.  The same stars as last time, but the action gets racheted up a notch.  The brawl between Aquaman and Black Manta is nice, but it's only the first round for those two.  As to Deathstorm, seems like Johns is still pushing his anti-90s stance, which is alright in this case.  The cliffhanger is one heck of a doozy though!

Doom Patrol #15 -- It's the Chief versus the Doom Patrol... only the Chief now has all of the powers of a Kryptonian.  This may be the best issue of this series to date.  Not so much for the fight, which is rather stupendously rendered, but more for the insight into the head of Niles Caulder.  Remember, back during the Blackest Night tie-ins, his only emotion was Avarice.  How is a man who takes and takes and takes qualified to be in charge of the Doom Patrol?  How does he justify his underhanded and sometimes downright criminal actions?  Giffen paints a portrait of a bad man who nonetheless feels his course of action was not only appropriate but loving.  When I first started reading this book I thought it would be mostly for fun, but Giffen has made me care about the Patrol in a way no one else has ever come close.

Superman: The Last Family of Krypton #3 -- As Lara's Raology takes the world by storm, Jor-El's science begins to have a negative effect on Earth... all while Kal-El builds his legacy and Lex Luthor grows more and more discontent.  A suitably epic conclusion to this very worthwhile Elseworlds.  Definitely a series I need to read in one fell swoop.  Hopefully Bates will continue to get work from the Superman office.

Iron Man: Legacy #7 -- As Tony Stark works with his newfound engineering prodigy, the Serpent Society makes their move to eliminate him and secure their own future.  One thing you can say about Van Lente is that he is not afraid to bring in a lot of badguys.  I like both the Tony Stark-centric story and the Pride-centric story, so this arc is shaping up nicely.  One nitpick though: you kind of need a mob to lynch someone, otherwise I am pretty sure it's just a hanging.  Also, Tony's look at the end really reminds of the early part of Frank Tieri and Keron Grant's run on Volume 3.

Charmed #3 -- As Innocents continue to die or disappear, Phoebe has to take time out to handle a mass wedding photo-op with some unusual guests.  Meanwhile, an old foe is rising in the Underworld.  The Phoebe subplot is very strange, but, to be fair this is the sort of thing which would have happened on the show so I can't complain too loudly.  The baddie reveal was obvious from the start but I like his new form.  Alright issue, though not enough happens for my taste.  There is a very nice action sequence involving a young Firestarter (the nature of this story rewards folks who watched the series), and Piper mowing down demons.

Re-Read Pile: Brightest Day, Doom Patrol, Iron Man: Legacy.

The Pick Of The Pile is Doom Patrol, which actually jumped up to the top of my Re-read Pile after I read it the first time.  It's just a well written and drawn comic all around.