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Snapshots for 2/11
There's no way that Don and I can cover all of the material we have for review in full reviews, so these capsule reviews will offer some brief comments on other recent releases.
COUP D'ETAT: STORMWATCH #1
by Micah Ian Wright & Carlos D'Anda (DC Comics/Wildstorm imprint)
 I keep choosing mostly the wrong issues to try out Stormwatch. I've generally liked the ideas and Wright's stories on Stormwatch, but have run into two problems, one being I always seem to catch it when the artist isn't to my taste and the other that for everything I like about Wright's work, I think he doesn't really get The Authority. So that's two strikes against Coup D'etat: Stormwatch, which features The Authority rather prominently (acting somewhat out of character in my estimation) and has artwork by Carlos D'Anda, who is certainly an improvement over original Stormwatch artist Whilce Portacio but still isn't quite right for the title. Still, while I didn't like Wright's take on The Authority as essentially somewhat stupid supervillains, I found plenty in the issue to like. Seeing the Stormwatch team desperately go from sanctioned military unit to an outlaw band was interesting, and I liked that I got more of a sense of who these individual characters were. Also, though it ran the risk of being too cute, the obvious Doctor Doom riff that makes up about half the issue was a lot of fun and was a good way to show off the capabilities and attitudes of the team. Certainly Wright has an interesting status quo set up by the end of this issue, and if he can stay away from overtly mentioning or dealing with The Authority and focus in on his own characters, I think the Stormwatch book could be well worth watching. 6/10
EMMA FROST #8
by Karl Bollers, Carlo Pagulayan & Dennis Crisostomo (Marvel Comics)
 You know, given the setup last issue and a cliffhanger that hinted at some kind of dangerous scheme, I was a little disappointed to open this book and discover that the big risky plan was to gamble for the money. Not exactly fraught with drama and peril, that. At any rate, the second part of "Mind Games" sort of retreads the territory explored in issue one, not providing much new story material, and contains a somewhat contradictory personality for Emma, who is willing to cheat at poker using her telepathy but bulks at jumping a turnstile when chased by violent goons. With the finale providing something of a status quo change, it's my hope that part three will get back on track and provide us with some new story instead of reiterating stuff we already know. Nice art by Pagulayan and Crisostomo again, though, even if the story was a disappointment. 4/10
HAWKMAN #25
by Geoff Johns, Rags Morales & Michael Bair (DC Comics)
 JSA is over 50 issues old and has had some really good stories, but "Black Reign" just might be my favorite blockbuster JSA story that Johns has told. The story concludes in fine fashion in this issue, with gorgeous (as always) artwork from Rags Morales and Michael Bair and some terrific superhero fights. I'll confess that I'm disappointed in the relative swiftness of some of those fights, and I find myself in the curious position of wishing that a six-part story was just one part longer so we could get a more drawn-out conflict between Mr. Mind and the Atom or Black Adam and Captain Marvel, but this is plenty satisfying. Perhaps more importantly, Johns has sown the seeds for plenty of future stories with this finale, which ends with some surprising status quo changes for a couple members of the team and a return for one Infinity Inc. member and one classic JSA member to the roster. This is how you do a superhero epic, with real change instead of the illusion of change and a solid mixture of action and characterization instead of a focus on one or the other. 9/10
TEEN TITANS #8
by Geoff Johns, Tom Grummett & Kevin Conrad (DC Comics)
 It's kind of funny that Teen Titans has such a big audience, because it's actually less accessible than a lot of the titles lower on the sales charts. This issue features a guest spot by some fairly old Titans villains, a long primer on a long-absent Titans heroine/villainess and some subplot stuff that's really only going to resonate fully with those who keep up with the modern-day incarnations of Robin. And yet, perhaps what makes the book so widely appreciated is that this is classic superhero storytelling, full of costumes and action along with the characterization, unashamed to have a history without wallowing in it to such a degree that only the old school fans can appreciate it. I probably can't claim that I'm not an old school fan in many regards, but I know I got a kick out of seeing these villains and was intrigued to see the history of Raven presented in chronological order, making sense of some of the truly horrible stories that the character was subjected to in the '90s. In addition, Tom Grummett's artwork, inked by Kevin Conrad and colored by Jeromy Cox, looks fantastic here, full of detail and energy that reminds me more than anything else of the work of George Perez. 8/10
ULTIMATE X-MEN #42
by Brian Michael Bendis, David Finch & Art Thibert (Marvel Comics)
 For the most part, I've felt like Bendis has been treating his run on Ultimate X-Men as an extended guest arc, introducing characters and telling mostly self-contained tales that don't really move the overall story of the book forward. This issue, however, definitely feels like more of a step forward as it not only introduces a foil for Xavier but continues to examine mutant-human race relations and politics as Millar did in his better stories on the book. I'm honestly a little nervous to see all these second- and third-string characters showing up, as it runs the risk of turning the Ultimate universe into just another cluttered superhero playground, but at the same time, I can't deny the fun in Bendis's music punk take on Dazzler or a strong interest in seeing where he goes with the character introduced on the last page of the issue. Finch also turns in a great performance here, with a particularly strong reinterpretation of Dazzler, a very strong design for the character who shows up on the last page and some great storytelling on the Storm sequence, which indicates more strongly than ever before the feelings she really has for Hank McCoy. That sequence, and a similar one between Jean and Cyclops, indicates perhaps the greatest strength of this issue, as Bendis marries his interesting story ideas to more permanent character development and plot development and so finally starts to make Ultimate X-Men his book, however briefly, before handing it over to the next team. 8/10
X-TREME X-MEN #42
by Chris Claremont, Igor Kordey, Greg Adams, Andrew Pepoy & Norm Rapmund (Marvel Comics)
 I'm having mixed feelings about X-Treme X-Men, which has only recently moved off of my "Dear God, why?" list of comics I won't even read for free and into the guilty pleasure department. This issue has its rough spots, including multiple inkers that weaken Kordey's usually gorgeous artwork (one of the many downsides of a monthly title going frikkin' weekly for two months) and the usual Claremontian over-powered favorite characters (this time out it's a depowered Gambit whose annoying dialogue tics are only slightly less irritating than his ability to show up the powered X-Men and a surprise guest who seems to have had her powers amped up to match up with Elias Bogan, the mysteriuos bad guy of the piece), but it also has its high points. I loved seeing some of the old New Mutants back in action, especially since the ones featured here are my favorites, as opposed to the also-rans currently starring in the artistically-challenged New Mutants title, and I'm really enjoying seeing Cannonball back in the smart leadership role he was meant for rather than the dumb country bumpkin role he was forced into for much of the '90s. X-Treme X-Men still suffers from clunky dialogue and sometimes nonsensical plotting (wait - so the plan was for Bishop to get captured and mind controlled, or are Sage and Bishop just really bad at planning?), but I'm starting to see the upsides in Claremont's writing that made me forgive these flaws in his later run on Uncanny X-Men in the '80s as well. 6/10
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