New Comic Day 2.9.2011

This is, frankly, one of those weeks where Marvel is pissing me off. I won't be picking up my books until the weekend, mainly because Marvel's insistence that their Ultimate line is worth $4 a pop. Since I've started a weekly blog entry about my reactions to the books after reading, I think my comments here will likely get lighter.

Batman & Robin #20 $2.99

Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by PATRICK GLEASON & MARK IRWIN
Cover by PATRICK GLEASON
1:10 Variant Cover by GENE HA

From the pages of the best-selling BRIGHTEST DAY and GREEN LANTERN CORPS comes the new regular creative team of writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason! Kicking off the action is "Dark Knight, White Knight" part 1 of 3, as Bruce Wayne returns from the dead and Gotham City finds itself locked in the grip of chaos! Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne come face-to-face with what could possibly be the strangest Bat Villain yet. Who is the White Knight, and why is he hell-bent on making Gotham City into Heaven on Earth?

Well, new creative team, but it seems really odd that they're talking about Bruce Wayne "back from the dead," which happened MONTHS ago. Another sign of a behind-the-scenes delays? Who knows?

I really don't know what to expect here.

The Flash #9 (Flashpoint) $2.99

Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:10 Variant cover by SCOTT KOLINS

BRIGHTEST DAY rushes forward! Now, make way for Hot Pursuit – the latest speedster to come out of the Speed Force! He's here to make sure no one breaks the speed limit – hero or villain! And just wait until you see whose face is under Hot Pursuit's helmet…

What? Now, wait...Flashpoint is part of Brightest Day?

WTF!?!

Jesus, I am so sick of crossovers. Now we have crossovers with crossovers. Here's an idea, stop. Let everything be self-contained for a year. I'm reading all this stuff, and I can't keep it straight. Doesn't that seem to maybe, I dunno...suggest a problem?

Red Robin #20 $2.99

Written by FABIAN NICIEZA
Art and Cover by MARCUS TO
& RAY MCCARTHY

Red Robin finally combines forces with his former teammates in a 2-issue crossover with TEEN TITANS that kicks off right here! Is there even enough room for Tim Drake and Damian Wayne – the new Robin – on one team? Meanwhile, Catman and the Calculator have their own agendas for this highly anticipated reunion!

Don't miss the pulse-pounding second part in this month's TEEN TITANS #92!

Here's a shocker. A crossover I don't mind. I won't even mind buying Teen Titans to finish out the story.

Why?

Because Red Robin has earned it. It's a solid book that hasn't been requiring me to buy 14 other titles to understand it. It's let me get involved with this new phase of Tim Drake's heroic life by, well, telling decent stories. And Drake used to be a Titan, so it makes sense.

Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimates #1 (Death of Spider-Man) $3.99

Wow. No solicit material I can find, easily, anyway. I think Mark Millar (ugh) is writing and Leinil Yu is the artist.

This is part of the Ultimate Comics Death of Spider-Man event/crossover/whatever. I don't mind it too much, as Ultimate Comics Spider-Man is consistently so good. And, I'll be fair enough to say writing Ultimates is one of the places where I really can take Mark Millar as a writer.




Ultimate Comics Captain Ameirca #2 $3.99

Written by JASON AARON
Pencils & Cover by RON GARNEY

An Ultimate Comics groundbreaking miniseries!

Captain America has met his match, but just who exactly is this nemesis? And what does he want? Superstars JASON AARON (PUNISHERMAX) and RON GARNEY (WOLVERINE: WEAPON X) bring you a gripping tale about what it truly means to wear the flag.

A fairly interesting first issue leads me to the second. The one problem is, the Ultimate version of Captain America is so much more jingoistic and militant than his mainstream Marvel counterpart, that when you put him up against a version of himself that "goes too far," you kinda think, "not that different."

Of course, that might be the point. 

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #153 (Death of Spider-Man) $3.99

Again, can't easily find solicit material. This issue, I believe, makes the return of Mark Bagley to Ultimate Spider-Man. Brian Michael Bendis/Mark Bagley team is just red-hot on this title, and I'm really happy to see Mark back. Though, I will miss seeing him do different stuff when he was at DC.

More of The Death of Spider-Man. Again...I'm down with this. Bendis has been playing this series so well, I'm willing to do full crossover mode for it. The quality, and the lack of constant pushing of that sort of marketing have earned it from me.

Though, I will tell you this. The $3.99 price point on all these Ultimate books is really starting to piss me off. Mainly because, outside of Ultimate Spider-Man, none of them are consistently worth it. I mean, seriously, the Ultimate Avengers books have sucked completely since day one, and New Ultimates can't seem to maintain a schedule to save their lives. The assorted mini-series? A really, really mixed bag.

DC has stepped back to $2.99 on everything that's not a "special event." I can live with that, but I'm sorry, just putting "Ultimate" on a book doesn't make it a special event.