“Vader Down” notwithstanding, I’ve generally enjoyed Jason Aaron’s work on “Star Wars” so far.  The second volume even indicated that we could expect stronger work from him when he’s not bent on bringing in big-gun guest stars like Darth Vader and Boba Fett.  With “Rebel Jail” he has an even bigger opportunity to add something […]

In *ahem* researching Joe Kelly’s “Deadpool” run for the podcast, I found that while it had its moments it wasn’t as entertaining as you’d expect from a defining run on a character.  I was more entertained by the recent Duggan/Posehn run that managed to mix action, comedy, and drama in a more satisfying fashion.  Now […]

I wrote in my review of the first volume of this series that I hoped the issues I had with it could be worked out over the next few volumes.  Well, that’s not going to happen as this second volume is also “Starve’s” last.  I do wonder if Brian Wood saw the writing on the […]

If what I’ve read is correct, then the next volume of “Hellboy in Hell” represents the end of his saga.  I’ll be finding out the specifics of that once “The Death Card” ships next month.  It certainly doesn’t mean the end of his adventures in comics form, however.  “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.” appears to be […]

If it wasn’t clear in “New Avengers,” this volume makes it clear that Al Ewing has stepped up to take the mantle of Marvel’s “Big Ideas” guy after Jonathan Hickman left post-”Secret Wars.”  While “Ultimates” may have been the name for the Ultimate Universe’s version of the Avengers (as well as a thoroughly mediocre teen […]

All of the “X-Men” titles I’ve read so far from Marvel’s latest relaunch have done a good job of offering up familiar yet fun takes on the ideas and characters that have populated the franchise over the years.  This version of “Uncanny X-Men” is a bit different from its peers in that it’s basically an […]

Right now, “Injection” artist Declan Shalvey is busy doing back-up stories for “All-Star Batman” and a “Nick Fury” serial for the “Civil War:  Choosing Sides” miniseries.  I mention this because, while they’re raising his profile, they’re keeping the artist from working on the next volume of this series.  While Warren Ellis has said that Shalvey […]

Abe’s ongoing series hasn’t been the brightest spot in the Mignolaverse, creatively speaking.  Actually, let’s not mince words:  For the majority of its run, “Abe Sapien” has embodied some of the worst characteristics you can find in Mike Mignola’s writing.  There have been plenty of vaguely cryptic hints about the title character’s role in the […]

Between this “Extraordinary X-Men,” and “All-New Wolverine,” it seems that the direction for the franchise in the wake of Bendis’ run has been to embrace the familiar and return to what has worked before.  That means lots of character-driven drama between teams with defined members and actual fights against established members of their rogues’ gallery. […]