Comics

Astro City #13

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Astro City #13The latest issue of Astro City weaves around loosely-tied tales of a bank teller falling for a robber, a troubled romance, Jack-in-the-Box, and a robotic dog named Rover all through the reappearance of a celestial entity known as the Dancing Man. Although I think it’s a good issue, exploring themes of current civilization bottled up and asleep to the musical rhythms it once knew, it’s easily my least favorite of the current Astro City run.

Despite his appearance on the cover Jack-in-the-Box is really only on hand for a cameo as his thread of the story feels the most forced (and largely unnecessary) of the bunch. With the focus split in so many directions we learn less about any of the individuals like Gundog who we’re meeting for the first time than you might expect.

Although similar themes have certainly been developed and explored in more depth elsewhere, Astro City #13 still works by playing with the lives of normal characters and larger-than-life entities who don’t always have the same needs or desires. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $3.99]

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Smallville Season Eleven: Lantern #3

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Smallville Season Eleven: Lantern #3With the Earth being bombarded with yellow rings seeking out those able to harness great fear Batman and Superman have their hands full. Despite his recent injuries, Green Arrow jumps back into the fray this time in a suit of armor. And, in bad news for the heroes, in space another Lantern falls to Parallax.

Setting up next month’s conclusion to the four-issue mini-series, Smallville Season Eleven: Lantern #3 leaves things looking rather bleak for our heroes with John Stewart now leading Parallax’s warriors into battle. It will be interesting to see how Clark and the group manage to turn the tide, but I’m actually more interested in the fallout with several questions to be answered.

Who will wear the Green Lantern ring of New Krypton? If Parallax is defeated and the Guardians are freed does that mean other possible victims (such as Hal Jordan?) may make an appearance as well. And what might happen if Lex Luthor gets his hands on one of those yellow power rings? Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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All-New X-Men #28

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All-New X-Men #28The X-Men’s battle with Xavier and the Future Brotherhood of Mutants continues as the son of Charles Xavier sets his sights on Jean Grey believing her death will pave the way for Xavier to wipe out the X-Men once and for all.

Intercut through the various battle scenes with the school and Jean Grey’s mind, we’re given future flashbacks involving Xavier recruiting the Beast to his cause and explaining his hatred of the X-Men. It seems Xavier believes their continued existence after Professor X’s death is a mockery rather than a memorial to their former teacher (which honestly makes Xavier come off more like a whiny emo punk than kick-as super-villain).

Faced with a serious threat in Xavier and his team, All New X-Men #28 continues the trend of showcasing Jean Grey as the pivotal figure on the team whose power continues to surprise even those who know her all too well. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Worlds’ Finest #24

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Worlds' Finest #24With Power Girl busy attempting to finish the dimensional device to send the two heroes home (and restore power to the city which her first attempt caused), Huntress is on her own deal with a hostage situation involving a scientist who works for Karen Starr and a Slavic terrorist planning on using the blackout to detonate a dirty bomb.

Keeping the two heroes separate, Huntress carries the main story on her own as we peek in at Power Girl’s attempts to rectify the damage her creation has caused and set up a second attempt in next month’s series finale. As the series is ending I guess it’s settled that the pair will returning to the New 52 version of Earth-2 which disappoints me as I’ve enjoyed the small niche within this world Helena and Kara have managed to carve out for themselves.

Although we don’t get much interaction between the pair, as a penultimate issue Worlds’ Finest #24 works well as the threat to Huntress and the city is far more grave without the safety net of Power Girl swooping in until her bestie already has the situation well in hand. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Magneto #5

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Magneto #5It’s not every day Magneto makes a new friend, but then again it’s not every day the master of magnetism catches someone following him for unknown purposes and chooses not to react rashly. With a complicated past tied to his own (which Magneto isn’t yet aware), Briar Raleigh offers the once self-appointed savior of Homo Superior vital intelligence on his enemies. Given the fact that the young woman’s injuries were initially caused by one of Magneto’s attacks it’s unclear just what Briar’s true purposes are, where she’s getting her intel, or who she is working for.

Although I liked the idea of Magneto walking the Earth like Caine from Kung Fu, Briar’s introduction does open the comic to several new possibilities. The introduction of an unknown quantity not only gives someone for Magneto to interact with but offers an ongoing mystery about her motives. I’m on the fence about giving the reader much more information about the girl than the title character receives, but I’d suspect Magneto has his own suspicions which will serve him well. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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