My Week in Comics: February 27, 2009

I’d like to take this time to apologize for not updating as often as I should. It’s been crazy and heartbreakingly sad these past few weeks…thank God then for the new comics that perk me up every Friday! Speaking of gods, it’s time for the most verbose comic reviews around! And what’s shaking this week proves to be, well, godly.

Gail Simone should be damn thankful to Aaron Lopresti for making Wonder Woman #29 one of the most gorgeous looking books this week, to hide the fact that the story inside is kind of meh. Even battle-scarred and having her bones “grind against each other with each breath”, Lopresti’s Wonder Woman still looks damn gorgeous and regal. Also, A. Lo (has anybody else called him this before? If not, you heard it here first!) treats us to a catfight between Wondy and Cheetah that’s both brutal and stunning to look at.

As for the story…well, it left me wanting, to say the least. Maybe it’s because I’m new to Wonder Woman and I don’t know about the Olympians and what their connection is with all this, but the sight of Zeus going medieval on a fellow god (from another religion, no less!) just makes me feel iffy, and Simone hasn’t really given me enough reasons to care about this storyline that’s running parallel to Wondy’s. And the Origins and Omens back-up story didn’t really do much than show one of those freaky Oans shoot black tears at yet another retelling of Diana’s origin. Yes, that’s exactly how I understood it, but given my unstable mental countenance as of late, taking anything in this book by face value is the only way I could get a chuckle out of it. Regardless, it’s 7 out of 10.

Now Nova is finally getting somewhere. In this ish, a powerless Richard Rider hitches a ride with his dad back to Project PEGASUS to run some tests. After Worldmind downright told everybody that Rich has gone nuts due to prolonged exposure to the Nova Force just last issue, our hero wants to know if it’s true. In the end, Rich is given a clean bill of mental health, which confirms what we’ve all feared: that the supercomputer that’s building an army of brainwashed Nova Corspmen is the one who’s batshit insane!

After the couple of dud issues we’ve had, this is a development that has piqued my interests. So how do you stop a super-intelligent (and batshit insane) supercomputer residing in the brain of an enormous planet with a face from recruiting the hell out of unqualified people in your planet? I don’t know, but the good part is I want to find out. And along with a shocker ending I thought I would only see in telenovelas, Nova #22 gets an 8 out of 10.

Next we have X-Force #12. One wonders…with the sheer amount of people who die in almost every issue (1,100 people die in this issue alone!), why don’t the people or the media make a big deal out of it? But I digress. Here, the Leper Queen is using a strain of the Legacy Virus to infect mutants capable of widespread, area of effect powers… using them as living bombs to commit acts of terrorism and defame what’s left of the mutant population! Imagine a mutant with the power to shoot atomic missiles from every pore on his body infected with the Legacy virus…that kind of crowd control will work wonders on mutant PR.

X-Force gets a lot of mixed reviews, but I could see how people can’t like this. It’s turning people like Angel and Warpath uncharacteristically into murderers, and you know how we fanboys can get a bit uptight about OOC-ness. But I guess that’s what I like about this book…it’s a place no one has dared to go before, and writers Craig Kyle and Chris Yost are talented enough to not make it into a bloody, mindless mess that goes for the violence just for the sake of violence. It’s all good, and I mean 8.5 out of 10 good.

I saved the best for last, and it couldn’t get any better than Incredible Hercules #126, where we’re finally told the origin of Hercules, get a blow by blow synopsis of everything that has happened to Herc so far, and learn the final fate of Kirby the Pup, all in one issue!

The first part is all about Herc’s origin, cleverly told by writers Grek Pak and Fred Van Lente. It’s actually a very powerful story of what motivated Herc to be the true hero he is today. But then again, you might have just noticed the sound effects you’ve come to expect from these guys (KRAKKANAKKS is the sound of an axe cracking? *Mind blown*) Oh, and artist Rodney Buchemi is a god among men. His goddesses are gorgeous and powerful (and naked most of the time)…and who knew that before becoming a drunken, immortal lout, Herc was actually kind of dreamy?

The second story, The Search for Kirby, has Amadeus Cho meet up with Bruce Banner/Hulk to look for Kirby (who if you may recall was replaced by a Skrull during Secret Invasion), who just happens to be living beside a fully loaded and armed Army base. It has its moments of awesome, but in the end it’s more of a poignant story. Read its last few pages and dare to tell me your eyes didn’t water at the sight, especially with Takeshi Miyazawa doing the art, perfectly capturing the wistful tone of the entire story.

All in all, Incredible Hercules #126 is a tour de force of writers and artists brought together to create what could possibly be the most perfect comic I’ve ever read so far. It’s got a good mix of action, comedy, drama and thoughtfulness you never thought to expect from a Herc comic, totally deserving 10 out of 10.

Looks like the good comics keep on rolling my way! I tell ya, Year of the Ox is lucky for us comic geeks! So, if you’ve got any suggestions, reactions, or just want to gush at “dreamy Herc” with me, send a comment my way using the comment box below! My Week in Comics is up every Friday. Thanks for reading!