Comic Impressions - Hurra for the action/comedy.

A big reason I like team-based books like X-Men is because when you have characters that have been together for so long, and you have a writer who actually seems to care about the sense of family and history those characters would experience in each other's company, you get some really good flashes of comedy. The last two issues of Uncanny X-Men (502 and 503) have some good examples of this. It's one element that keeps me coming back to X-Men, rather than solo jobs like Spidey.

Another thing about X-Men, the varied books (at the best of times, and times are not always good) like Uncanny, Astonishing and X-Force all seem to have their own flavour. Uncanny is classic but evolving X-story, Astonishing (being written by the astonishing Warren Ellis) has been pushing some boundaries of where you can really go with the ol' 616 (look it up) and X-Force is superbly dark and gritty. Good times.

I pick up WitchBlade TPBs for my mom (she can't stand reading direct issues), and I plan on getting her Fathom when those trades are released again. Speaking of Fathom, you should know by now that Michael Turner, a wonderful man and artist who lost his very long fight with bone cancer, is having a tribute book put out on November 5th. I urge everyone to pick it up. I've very glad that Michael managed to lay enough groundwork so that Aspen (his company) can keep great stories like Fathom and SoulFire alive. He will be missed.

Just about the only DC I read consistently is Green Lantern and the Corps (I know I should read Superman and Batman titles but I have yet to jump into those). I'm pumped about this "Darkest Night" story that will extend well into next year, and hope Ryan Gosling picks up the role for the movie. I'm not a fan of his previous works but the man sure has some major acting skillz.

Coming back to Marvel, I'm a big fan of the lesser-known and revamped characters like Iron Fist and Nova. I've always liked Marvel's space stories and Nova and Guardians of The Galaxy are really fun action titles. As for Iron Fist, I just really dig me the mystical king-fu stuff and the writing is sorta noir and swash-buckly when they run an Orsen Randall tale.

I'm a little iffy about Skaar: Son of The Hulk. The main character and art are there but the supporting characters and plot are not grabbing me the way Planet Hulk was. Still, I'm giving it a chance. I'm also having thoughts about The Ultimates 3. I LOVE Joe Mad's art, but he's so hard to keep on a monthly schedule (that's why one of my favorite stories, BattleChasers, was cancelled) and as for the story... Well, the whole idea of the Ultimate universe was to start these iconic characters and teams from scratch again so they could be revamped, but it seems all they're doing with the Ultimates is building the same house of cards again, only this time they seem to be in a hurry and the nuances are getting lost. I hope for better.

Anyhoo, I'm gonna read EON, get some lunch and maybe jump on EvE. Also gotta get some housework done. Special post topic tomorrow.

Ja.