Big Stack o' Comics: The Penultimate Chapter

So I am finally through with my stack of new books. It felt weird to read pretty much an entire month's worth of stuff in a condensed period, with no prose reading in-between. I will be doing one more post after this, as I have quite a lot of books to cover, as my reading ability outstripped my writing time for the past few days. So without further ado, lets get going with:

Uncanny X-Men # 514, Dark Avengers # 8 and Invincible Iron Man # 16, otherwise as the Might Marvel Matt Fraction Man of Action Triple Feature (cue pulpy b-movie title cards and music) -- No other writer has risen so highly in my estimation in the past few months than Mr. Fraction. Most of this owes to my discovery of Casanova, but part of it is the fact that he is simply rocking these two titles right now. His X-Men is by far the best take on the book since Grant Morrison's, and is arguably the best traditional, juggle five plotlines in the air and resolve them on a revolving basis, pseudo-soap-opera take on the book since Claremont's heyday. While many have grumbled that the Utopia storyline is moving too slowly for their tastes, I find it pitch-perfect. As for Iron Man, Tony Stark slowly losing his marbles never struck me as a great idea, but it is being played exceptionally well by Mr. Fraction, featuring some poignant moments that are actually making me like Tony Stark again (which, I'm guessing, might have been the aim, or at least one of the aims, of this story-line). And Mr. Fraction, did you actually sneak a lyrical reference to The Mountain Goats into this issue?

Wednesday Comics # 5-8: This weekly series is a fun throw-back, a feast for the eyes, and it will be over far too soon. There are some truly great strips included in this thing, including Gibbons and Sook's Kamandi, Paul Pope's Adam Strange, and Gaiman and Allred's Metamorpho, with only a couple of real clunkers (Wonder Woman and Teen Titans, I'm looking at you). I haven't seen the sales numbers on this yet, but I hope its doing well enough that DC tries this again, perhaps taking it in an even more daring and experimental direction next time.

Blackest Night # 2: In the grand tradition of a good summer movie, this series invites you to turn off your mind, stop worrying so much, and enjoy zombie superheros. On that level, its a resounding success. If you are looking for depth, though, stay away.

Unwritten # 4: Actually, if you are looking for depth, you might want to check in here. Quickly becoming my favorite Vertigo book (especially now that Young Liars is ending), this nice little piece of graphic fiction exploring the nature and power of fiction, and perhaps of genre as well, is smart as hell. This issue is also a bloody good time, emphasis on the bloody, and if you ever wondered what a Harry Potter slasher flick would look like, well, pick this up and wonder no more.

Captain America: Reborn # 2: Even though released and hyped as its own event, this book is really just a straight continuation of Brubaker's years-long run on Captain America. Which means its a whole lot better than any Captain America book has any right to be. The highlight here is Cap's experience traveling through time and reliving his own life. Cap's experience having to go through World War II again, when he points out that most of the men next to him will soon be killed, is pretty harrowing. Brubaker is at his best on this title when he plays up the war and spy elements - indeed, Captain America is arguably one of the least superheroic of the current superhero comics, which is decidedly a good thing. The present-day action here doesn't live up to the Steve Rogers scenes, but it promises to get better as the series progresses.