Author: Joshua Hill

When I found out that X-Factor #33 was part of a three part Secret Invasion tie-in with She-Hulk, I was not happy. I’m never happy when X-Factor gets dragged into another event or mini-series.  But there was more to it; what I didn’t know that Peter David was writing She-Hulk.

Though not surprising in the slightest, I was pleasantly happy to see Two-Face Year One in this week’s pull lists. I was however surprised that it was only a two parter, but then I found that it was 48 pages long, and … needless to say, as a big Harvey Dent fan, I’ll be looking forward to buying this in TPB. But for the moment, we’ve got 48 pages worth of Harvey Dent to review, and I was once again pleasantly surprised with how this turned out.

My first introduction to witnessing an event as it took place was the Civil War/Infinite Crisis year. Back then, I was a little bit younger, and apparently I didn’t mind the mass of books that you had to buy to keep up with what was happening. I was blissfully unaware of the sheer greed that went with such an event and the need to tie-in as much as humanly possible to make as much money. So when I saw the Secret Invasion banner on top of my X-Factor this past week, I was crestfallen. Not entirely surprised, just disappointed.

Maybe something that people have forgotten since Wally West returned as The Flash, is that part of what made the Flash such a great character and series is his Rogue’s gallery. Not as dire or maniacal as Batman’s, the Flash’s rogues started out campy, and got progressively darker, while keeping that campy edge that only a cold gun can bring. So when I finished Rogues’ Revenge, I was struck by how similar this book was to the good Flash days, even though Jay, Barry, Wally nor Bart made an appearance.

One of the best comics going around at the moment is Wolverine First Class. It is a telling of how the close relationship that Kitty and Logan have evolved, from Kitty’s first days at the Xavier School. It’s funny, it’s cute, and above all, it gives you the insight in to their relationship it promises. However the sales are not justifying its quality, with only 22,000 sold for issue 3. It’s a pity, because it is a book I want to continue reading.

One of the best comic series of the past decade or more is, undoubtedly, Astonishing X-Men, by Joss Whedon and penciled by John Cassaday. Together they created one of the most comprehensive, cohesive and controlled pieces of comic literature we’ve seen in a long time. Whedon’s story was breathtaking, and Cassiday’s art was better. So let’s see how long it takes before it all comes crashing down. Why? Because Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi are now on the book and they aren’t no Whedon and Cassaday.

The Secret Origin storyline being run within the Green Lantern issues reached its fourth part this month. Being written by Geoff Johns, you can pretty much expect a good story, and so far, he’s been really hitting the mark. It was interesting to see, what essentially is a “Year One” storyline done within the pages of Green Lantern. Add on to that the total ret-conning that he is doing for the upcoming Blackest Night storyline in GL, and you have a gem of a series. Or so you would think.

Set relatively soon after Bruce Wayne took up the mantle of the Batman, Batman Confidential tells the stories of Batman’s early outings.  I first jumped on to the book at issue 17, because of the Batgirl/Barbara Gordon story being told. I am so glad that I did, and look forward to getting my hands on a TPB of the earlier issues. Batman Confidential #17 and #18 tell the story of Batgirl’s first encounter with Catwoman. There isn’t a Batman to be found in these issues, and when we’re dealing with one of my favorite characters, Batgirl, the less Batman the…

There’s no need to repeat my love for Peter David’s X-Factor and its valiant leader, Jamie Madrox; I’ve said it all before. But X-Factor #32, once again proves to the world just why it is Jamie and the rest of X-Factor make for one of the best comics being produced at the moment. That being said, this issue did provide me with one frustration, which we’ll get to at the very end.

I’m not sure anyone reviewed Titans #2 here at Major Spoilers (probably for the best), as there was a lot of ill-feeling towards the second issue in this, DC’s attempt to reunite its ’80’s classic. Subsequently, there is a certain measure of slack that can be cut considering that DC is starting off telling a new story from page one (for a given value of “new story”).

I was actually looking forward to this comic, the second installation in the Rann-Thanagar Holy War series. I’m a science fiction nerd at heart, and whenever you get guys flying around with ray-guns and rocket packs, I’m a happy man. And this issue was just as good as the last one, with a story that really has me interested by Jim Starlin.

I became a fan of X-Factor late last year, and have been in love ever since. To be fair, it’s pretty much just a giant man-crush on Jamie Madrox, but there is nothing too shabby about Siren either, a character that I really do like. However, the reason I continue to keep reading X-Factor – primarily – is to see when in hells bells Layla Miller will return. And to anyone who wants to cry “Marvel continuity sucks” at me for her appearance in Secret Invasion, give me a break; it was a flash-back!

It was not only a big step for Scott Summers, but a similarly big step for Marvel to set up X-Force with their own book. Now, four issues in, from my side of the fence, I think their decision has been rewarded by four well done books. Granted, give me a series on Wolverine and my biases may not necessarily allow me to see clearly.

The Booster Gold title has been one of the biggest surprises in recent years. No one ever thought that Booster Gold could be developed in to a comic title that anyone would actually pine for. But with Geoff Johns writing all bets are off apparently, as Booster Gold #09 continues the mind-blowing adventures of Booster and his best friend, Blue Beetle.