Wednesday 12/17/08

I predicted my ratings for this weeks' comics a few days ago, with a previously unused and entirely arbitrary letter ratings system. Lets see how my initial reactions gold up to my predictions...

Fear Agent #25: Meh. Still only 16 pages of relevant story for $2.99? That knocks a letter off right away, I'm afraid. This really should be getting the Casanova/Fell $1.99/16 pages treatment - it's perfect for the format and the spirit of that line, if you know what I mean. Not a bad issue at all, and I like that everything is starting to come together, and I love Remender's long-term planning, but it needs a little bit of the "oomph" that last few storylines - and first issue of this one - had.
Predicted rating: A-; Actual rating: C

Invincle Iron Man #8: I liked it, as predicted. And hey, Sawyer's on page 2! It's a good start to Tony's new status quo, and Fraction writes a really great Osborn, with just the right balance of crazy & smart ("I'm seeing how I like 'Commander' at this moment"). There seems to be a slight inconsistency in what's up with Ton'y Extremis interface, and how it works . First it's malfunctioning to the point that he can't control his armor (which, by the way, seems to be leading to a slightly de-powered Iron Man, which is probably necessary), next he can download the entire superhuman database into his brain through it. Is it just that his physical/mental capablilites are still enhanced, but he can't talk to machines? If that's the case, how did he download it to his brain? That knocks the "plus" off, but it's still an A issue. And you know, it's only part 1, that can still be explained, so I won't get too harsh.
Predicted rating: A+; Actual rating: A

Thor: God-Sized: Yup, good fun. Not much else to say about it, except that Marvel's price gouging is really funny and selective. You get 64 pages here for $3.99, which is quite a good value even if it 22 of it's a reprint (it's a reprint of Walt Simonson Thor, which everyone should read anyway), and Dark & New Avengers are both going up to $3.99 for 32 pages. Consistency? Oh well. It's a good value and a good story, so go buy it.
Predicted rating: B; Actual rating: B

Thunderbolts #127: God, that's brutal. Diggle manages to make Ellis' run look light-hearted and happy. I was going to drop it to save money, and because I don't have a whole lot of interest in the reported new team, but I may stick around to get my quota of mean, horrible things every month.
Predicted rating: B; Actual rating: A-

Uncanny X-Men #505: There's almost too much going on, but you've got to admire Fraction's effort to actually pull together the 8 billion plot threads going on in the X-Universe into a coherent story. The fact that he does in fact make a story out of it, rather than an inventory list of scenes, is even more impressive. He actually manages to make a character link between X-Force and White Queen's appearance in the Dark Reign special, in terms of her motivation. Really impressive, and I like Fraction's portrayal of Madison Jeffries. Someone's been taking "crazy futurist character writing" lessons from Warren Ellis. This is what Hanibal at CBR would call a "jump from the read pile".
Predicted rating: B-; Actual rating: A

X-Factor #38: The artwork's a little goofy, but it's competent, so fine. I actually really like what PAD did here; Madrox is getting so jaded and twisted (and possibly influenced by some of his more questionable dupes), that he's not really even concerned about the villain's plans. He just wants to do his job and go home. It leaves the reader hanging a bit, too, but in terms of character it's brilliant. It unfortunately leaves the story feeling a little unfinished. And I'm still not sure what Longshot is adding to the team (by he way, he could really benefit from an updated look).
Predicted rating: C+; Actual rating: B-

X-Men: Legacy #219: Meh. This was a totally pointless issue. The Juggernaut's rehabilitation is undoine for no good reason, he has a conversation with Xavier that accomplishes nothing other than letting Xavier know his rehab is cancelled, and then it turns out even the conversation was a mental scam from Xavier. Unless this ends up setting up something really important, bad issue.
Predicted rating: D+; Actual rating: D