This week’s stash brings with it the continuation of the big time Justice League crossover complete with a certain mysterious fan favorite finally getting some time in the spotlight; a new addition to already bursting at the seams vampire genre that is different from anything else on the market; and anew writer breathes life into a title that was D.O.A. under the pedestrian writing of its original author.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6

The Trinity War kicked off with Superman seemingly being responsible for the death of Dr. Light and this second part of the crossover quickly diffuses the tension and sees the two Leagues form an uneasy truce to get to the bottom of just what happened.
Final Verdict: I really liked that this issue didn’t devolve into a standard hero vs hero brawl for 20 ages. Instead the two teams are working together to find out what the hell is going on. Sure Amanda Waller is looking to use this incident to her advantage but the rest of the characters are all trying their best to co-exist. Focusing the bulk of the story on Wonder Woman wanting to rescue Superman and going about it by tapping into the more mystical wells of the DCU was a smart movie but my favorite part of this issue was that it brought The Question front and center after his being on the sidelines for way too long. And the identity of The Outsider is totally known to me now after that first page; I am glad they are going back to the character’s roots instead of using the Flashpoint version of the character. This twist will give the upcoming events far more relevance.
I also have to say how great it is to see Doug Mahnke back drawing the Justice League. His previous run on the title was one of my favorites and Mahnke’s distinct style works well for this book.
Grade: B

NOVA #06

New writer Zeb Wells and new artist Paco Medina bring the adventures of the new Nova into the Marvel Universe present after the first five issues of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness’ run gave us the character’s origin story.
Final Verdict: I absolutely hated Loeb’s run on this book. the characters were all flat and lifeless and I didn’t really care what happened to Sam Alexander. The only thing good about the first 5 issues of this book was McGuiness’ art. So I was very eager to see what Zeb Wells would do as then writer on this book but was kind of disappointed that McGuiness wouldn’t be continuing on as artist. To my surprise I ended up liking Medina’s art more than I did McGuiness and Wells completely made me care about these characters. Alexander’s relationship with his mom felt very real and natural while the scenes with Sam at school were much closer to the early days of Spider-Man than Loeb ever got no matter how obviously he tried. I am actually interested in the adventure of this new Nova and no longer wishing for Richard Rider back in the helmet.
Grade: B

DAY MEN #1

David Reid is a fixer for a very powerful family. he cleans up their messes, removes any problems that arise and basically takes care of all of the family’s more sordid business. Did I mention that David’s employers are vampires?
Final Verdict: There are a billion vampire books on the market and I really wasn’t all that interested in another one but the chance to see artist Brian Steelfreeze on a monthly book was enough to get me to pick up DAY MEN and I am glad I did. This books takes a very original angle by making a Renfield type be the book’s main protagonist. watching David Reid navigate throughout the vampire world cleaning up the messes of the family he works for was very interesting and the set up for the impending war between two of the major vampire families was very well done. And Steelfreeze’s art was amazing. A really good book that deserves a wide audience.
Grade: B