Comics Briefly: American Vampire #30, Batman Inc. #3, Captain Marvel #3, Star Trek/Doctor Who #4, Superman Family Adventures #4, Wolverine and the X-Men #15, X-Treme X-Men #2

Batman Inc. was the lone book from last week, all the rest were new in stores on 8/29/12

Decent bunch, overall. Especially strong: American Vampire #30, Wolverine and the X-Men #15


American Vampire #30 (The Blacklist, Part Three)
Writer: Scott Snyder, Artist: Rafael Albuquerque, Colors: Dave McCaig

Ugh. That hits like a kick in the gut. I mean, in a good way, but still: oof. Skinner and Pearl are both in top form in this issue, in all their complicated history, ambiguous morality, and asskickery. The panels are gorgeous, and the writing ticks briskly along to its inevitable-feeling, heart-twisting climax. Wow.


Batman Inc. #3
Writer: Grant Morrison, Artist: Chris Burnham, Color: Nathan Fairbairn

Another fairly solid installment of Batman Inc. I really liked all the Matches scenes, thought they were quite well written. Dick is silly, Damian is petulant, what else is new? I am highly amused that the web of connections drawn on the Batcomputer does include both Kathy Kane (original Batwoman) and a tiny panel from a long-ago comic featuring the very silly Batmen of All Nations.


Captain Marvel #3
Writer: Kelly Sue Deconnick, Artist: Dexter Soy, Additional Artists: Rich Elson, Will Quintana, Karl Kesel, Javier Rodriguez

Our accidentally time-jumping heroine’s tale continues in this issue, which I could wish had a smidge more plot movement, but was overall quite good. Carol and the Banshees tear up the terrain in battle, and the mystery of what exactly is going on gets more intriguing. There’s even a nice little side-note recapping her origin. Well written, well plotted, good issue.


Star Trek/Doctor Who #4
Written by Scott and David Tipton, with Tony Lee, Pencils by Gordon Purcell, Colors by J. K. Woodward

The art team has shifted slightly with this issue, and I think the book suffers for it. In some panels it works, and in others, it just looks amateur. Not a lot happens in this issue, and overall the art holds it back from being great. It starts strong, with Guinan, but the rest is a bit weak.


Superman Family Adventures #4
by Art Baltazar and Franco

First off, I love the cover. Monkey attack! Everyone is crazy, and there’s Lois in the window calmly taking notes. Nice. The inside is pretty fantastic, too. Beppo the SUPERMONKEY. And he has a Secret Identity. HA! Such a cute book.


Wolverine and the X-Men #15 (AvsX tie-in)
Writer: Jason Aaron, Penciler: Jorge Molina, Inker: Norman Lee, Colorist: Morry Hollowell

OH MY. That was wonderful! I laughed, I got choked up, I got excited. The issue is a series of vignettes focusing on the characters preparing for the final showdown with the Phoenix. It’s almost enough to get me interested in Avengers Vs. X-Men again. Not quite, though. Little amazing moments make me pretty excited for what’s coming after the end of the cross-over, though. Everyone is adorable in this issue. Broo and Iron Man! Wolverine and Iceman! Kid Gladiator! It closes with a simply lovely scene between Beast and Xavier. Just a great issue.


X-Treme X-Men #2
Script: Greg Pak, Pencils: Stephen Segovia, Inks: Dennis Crisotomo, Walden Wong, Jason Paz, Colors: Jessica Kholinne and Sotocolor

Not quite as much fun as the first issue, partially because I kept being distracted by some cheesecakey costume choices. Overall not bad, though. I enjoy the zaniness of trying to keep straight which version of which character’s on which side. There’s already indications that the quest plot: “Kill the ten evil [spoiler]” isn’t going to be as straightforward as it sounded.