Stuff I Bought (7-6-06)

Four books last week, and I just got around to finishing them. Oy. Anyway, we're trying a little capsule review action for you this week. I'm trying to get a routine going, and so I'm experimenting to see what works here...

Justice League Unlimited #23: I normally really enjoy this series. I got into it planning on buying the issues that caught my attention, but they were all of such uniformly high quality that I made it a regular part of my pull list. And you know what? This story bored me to tears. I know I'm probably not the target audience here, but man, this story was dullsville. I couldn't even finish it. I noticed that this issue's not by Adam Beechen, who's picked up the writing chores on Robin. I hope his absence is only temporary, because I missed him this month. Grade: D.

The Thing #8: Apparently this is the final issue of the series, but I picked it up for 2 reasons: the series had been getting such rave reviews by people who's opinions I value, and because it was Poker Night. Benjy's poker games are the stuff of legend in the Marvel U, so I wasn't going to miss a chance to see it. And? Meh. It was ok, and there were some funny bits, but I don't know if Slott didn't bring the 'A' game because this is the last issue or what. Maybe this is the statistical outlyer issue, you know, the one that balances out the good issues? But I guess I'll never know, because this is the last issue. Grade: C.

Teen Titans #37: This is the last part of "New Teen Titans", the first OYL storyline for the series. Everything gets tied up, but not much seems to actually happen. There's not a lot of momentum. There's some good stuff here, but I hope to see it pay off with more movement of the storylines and subplots. I hope to see more of the Robin/Cassie subplot, along with the cloning subplot, but given Tim's reaction to his latest efforts, that storyarc may be finished. Anyway, Johns has earned the benefit of the doubt from me, so he gets a little extra credit. Grade: B.

Jonah Hex #9: This is consistently among the best books I get every month, and this month's no exception. Every time I feel like I've got a handle on Jonah's character, I get surprised. But in a good way. This is just another great story. Seriously, month in and month out, Palmiotti and Gray are writing a top-notch book. And it's nice to see Tony DeZuniga working at least semi-regularly. In all, this is a good way to drop 3 bones. Grade: A.

Hmm. I see that somehow the books managed to put themselves into ascending order. Funny. That wasn't intentional. Anyway, that's what I bought last week. This week looks to be a little lighter, so maybe I'll get reviews posted before I leave for Disneyland and SDCC.