There was a lot of good stuff that came out this week. Astonishing X-Men got new leadership, Avengers/Invaders continued to be above par, and worlds collided in Buffy.

Truth be told though, the most intriguing thing I saw was an ad in the Marvel books, featuring a silhouette in a Scarface-style black and white pose, with the words “Nobody’s on our side” printed on it. I have no idea what it is for, but it looked awesome!

Don’t forget, we’ll have even more reviews on The Forecast this week, as well as special guest (hopefully) JSA Penciller, and Shuster Award-Winning Dale Eaglesham! Also, we’re going to talk costumes with the curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City! Has The Watchtower gone high-class? Doubtful, but be sure to tune in and find out!

ASTONISHING X-MEN #25
Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi had big shoes to fill when they took over from Joss Whedon and John Cassady. After one issue, I don’t know if they’ve done it, but I think they are on their way. The book takes a turn into murder-mystery territory, but manages to keep some of the lightheartedness of Whedon’s run. The art was stunning, but a little dark for me sometimes. I was also happy with the way Storm was re-introduced to the team, and once I got past the idea of the X-Men being “consultants” to the San Francisco Police Department, I really enjoyed the book. Will it be as good as the first 24 issues? Probably not, but I’m still pretty excited about what we have here.

AVENGERS/INVADERS #3 (OF 12 )
The third chapter of this megaseries lived up to the first two. It was a great ride as the past met the present head-on. I love how the Past Bucky is being made into a much more bad-ass character. I wonder what would happen should he meet the “new” Captain America? All in all a great issue to a fantastic story, but one thing kinda bugs me: why does inLight Studios insist on colouring Cap’s uniform Purple?

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #16
Well, with Buffy #16, Joss Whedon has managed three very difficult things. One, he’s still writing Buffy stories that hold up with the best parts of the TV show. Two, he managed to tie two worlds (that of Buffy, and Future Slayer Fray) without making it seem like a ridiculous cash-grab, and Three, he’s written a time-travel story that thanks to points One and Two, doesn’t seem silly. Karl Moline, who drew the Fray graphic novel, takes over on pencils here, and his style is still a perfect fit for Whedon’s characters. So good it even makes me want to buy Angel!

THE BOYS #20
This is still one of the best books on the market for my money. Ennis and Robertson take superheroes and turn them inside out (literally and figuratively) in a way that only they could do. We dig deeper into the origins of The Seven, and superheroes themselves in this issue. It’s really a set-up issue for #21 that promises to turn everything on it’s head, but the great thing about The Boys is that even the set-up issues are better than most books out there.

DARK TOWER: THE LONG ROAD HOME #5 (OF 5 )
The final part of the next chapter in the series that fills in the gaps of Stephen King’s epic Dark Tower series was just as mystical and wonderful as the last. The Dark Tower has long been one of my favourite stories, and to see the characters, and the world, that King created treated with such respect both in writing and art is a sheer joy. I haven’t been that big a fan of Jae Lee or Peter David in the past, but with Richard Isanove and Robin Furth respectively guiding them, they churn out sheer brilliance. Can’t wait for Chapter III: Treachery in September.

BATMAN #678
Wow. Uh, What? I really wish that I could tout the brilliance of Morrison’s Batman R.I.P. story here, but I’ll be dead honest. I haven’t the first clue what is going on in this book. I have a loose idea of the plotline, but that’s about it. I guess I have to tread through 2 years of Morrison backstory to get it. Thing is, I’m not going to do that. Hopefully he’s got something up his sleeve to pull this all together.

SECRET INVASION: FRONTLINE #1 (OF 5 )
I didn’t read the Civil War: Frontline series, but I really enjoyed the World War Hulk: Frontline book. Now we can see Secret Invasion through the eyes of Ben Urich and co, and so far, so good. It’s always cool to see the effects of these events on the “normal” people of the Marvel U, and not just the Heroes.

JOKER’S ASYLUM: THE JOKER #1
How many gameshows must the Joker crash before Gotham City just plain out bans them? This story was all right, if not somewhat predictable. For some reason Arvid Nelson felt the need to throw some message about reality TV and sleazy producers in to a Joker book. Aside from that it was all right. The art to me seemed a little off. People’s faces seemed very smooshed. I know that’s not really an art term, but what do you want? I’m a writer for a reason.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #564
Hey! Look at that! An issue of Amazing Spider-Man that I actually enjoyed! Maybe it’s because I really liked the Mr. Negative character, and he features prominently in this issue. It was the same story told from three points of view, and normally that seems a little cheap to me, but it really worked for this tale of the old Parker Luck.

HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #1 (OF 3 )
A new Hellboy story? That must mean we’re close to the release of a new Hellboy movie! Fortunately the movie looks pretty awesome, and this book follow suit. Normally I don’t really like Hellboy stories that Mike Mignola doesn’t draw, but I must say Richard Corben does a great job of creating a really creepy atmosphere as Hellboy wanders into the back woods of the southern US. Witches, Demons, the Devil, this story has it all. Issue #2 can’t come soon enough.

SUPERGIRL #31
Supergirl’s quest to cheat death for a young boy with cancer continues here, and Kara is set to learn her hardest lesson yet: That she can’t save everyone. Since the art in this book picked up, I’ve been enjoying more and more. This arc is particularly poignant as it looks at the blurry lines between being heroes and being Gods. I’m glad that they are finally developing Supergirl’s character beyond simply being someone else for Superman to upstage.

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #21
When. Will. This. Arc. End? The sad thing is that this would actually be a pretty good story if the art wasn’t so cartoony. It has all the right elements of a great Punisher story, including the added twist of The Hand trying to resurrect him into their war, but the art just does not fit it. The Secret Invasion arc is up next should this one ever end, and hopefully someone who get’s the Punisher a bit more will be put on art duties.

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