This Week In Comics: Mar. 28, 2007

Action Comics #847
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Artist: Renato Guedes

I'm always wary of fill-in issues. They're never really necessary, they don't contribute to the story being put on hold, and they often suck (I'm talkin' Hoover quality). This issue, thankfully, didn't fit the mold. While it's completely unnecessary, McDuffie still makes the story enjoyable. With Supes trapped in the Phantom Zone and General Zod tearing Metropolis a new poopshoot, Ma and Pa Kent fear it's the end of the world, and contrary to popular belief, they won't be fine.

I really liked this story because it did something we don't get to see that often: see the pain that Superman sometime has to go through to save the day. And surrounding this is a nice tale about a man and his son. I've always thought this aspect is important. Sure, Superman is practically a god, but he still has time to remember that he has a family to care for. As for the art, DC sure knocked one out of the park with Guedes. He does a great job showing the humanity in Superman, and shows just how fantastic his life can be at the same time. So while this doesn't but a dent in the big picture, it's worth the read.

Batman #664
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Andy Kubert

After last issue's novella, it's great to see Morrison return to the standard comic format. Comics are a visual medium, after all.

Grant Morrison has the knack for taking a seemingly uninteresting story and making something out of it. Yea, it's a standard "punch this pimp, save that whore" formula, but it works. While I guess I was expecting more from this issue, I can't really complain about it.

As for the end, there's obviously a bigger story tying the events of Morrison's first arc to this one (hell, Batman even says so). So far we've seen one cop dress as Batman and shoot the Joker, and in this issue we supposedly have another cop wearing the uniform, except this guy screams Bane. Put this together with the mystery of the black case book, and we have ourselves something quite interesting. Too bad we'll have to wait until next issue to see what happens.

Fantastic Four #544
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Artist: Paul Pelletier

I really, really liked this book. Thank God McDuffie decided to give us a reasonable explanation as to why Black Panther and Storm decided to join the Fantastic Four. And there's plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor and winking at the audience, so that's pretty good. The pace of this book is also excellent. Rather than having to wait several issues to get the story going, we move from the Baxter Building to the Blue Area of the Moon to... someplace in space. Do I know where they are? No, but let me tell you one thing, it sure ain't pretty. Couple this with witty dialogue and excellent artwork, and you have my issue of the week. Can't wait for next month, cuz it looks like this is going to be one sweet ride.

Wolverine #52
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Simone Bianchi

I still haven't figured out if Wolverine is telling this story after the fact, or if he usually keeps a running narration going when he's trying to kill someone. In either case, the dude thinks way too much.

So we're three issues in and finally, we're at a point where something's about to be revealed. It's just too damn bad that we have to wait another issue to find out what. While I'm still intrigued by the story (this is mainly due to myself liking Wolverine so much), the pacing is horrible. We still don't know anything more about Wolverine and Sabertooth other than what we knew at the beginning of the arc. The inclusion of Storm and Black Panther does add to the story, but it feels more like Loeb was just tossing in the flavors of the month, cause I'm more than certain that the big revelation about the title character could have been revealed without their presence. So now we wait some more. Hopefully, something actually happens next issue so I don't feel like I'm reading Wolverine Origins (now that is one book that sucks nard).