This week’s Checklist is a world-wide edition, featuring Marvel’s newest Soleil title, Universal War One. There’s also some Punisher, some Ultimate Fantastic Four, and a Final Crisis tie-in that you won’t want to miss if you are a fan of speedsters at all.

This and much more in this week’s Forecast, but that isn’t the real story. This week on The Watchtower is the return of the one and only Terry Moore. Terry is our first repeat guest, and this time he’s brought along artist Craig Rousseau to give us the skinny on their upcoming Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane run.

Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge - 1
If you are at all a Flash fan, this book is written for you. As a casual fan of the Character, it was entertaining for me, but it was very much written for the die-hards out there. The treatment of The Rouges was great, setting them on a path for, well, revenge, and the last page was definitely a shocker. Considering that the book didn’t really feature a Flash/Kid Flash/Impulse, it looks to have some great long-lasting effects on the Flash-verse.

Jokers Asylum: Poison Ivy - 1
The Joker this week takes a look at Poison Ivy, one of Batman’s deadlier female foes. Which of course means we have to draw her naked as much as possible. I felt that the nudity was a bit gratuitous, but the story itself wasn’t too bad. I’m getting pretty bored with “eco-terrorism” though. Not as good as last week’s Penguin issue, but still better than The Joker issue.

Amazing Spider-Man - 566
In spite of my dislike for last weeks issue, and the emergence of the 78th Kraven The Hunter, I actually kind of liked this issue. Spidey swinging around in a Daredevil costume actually made for some great visuals, and great quips. I can finally get behind the writing of this story, even though it features a host of weak villains.

Captain America - 40
It’s Cap vs. Cap! The smackdown begins in this issue, and is far from over. Sharon Carter tries to escape the clutches of the Red Skull using is daughter, Sin, as leverage. Not the smartest ideas as Sharon’s abdomen finds out. A great follow-up to last weeks more dialouge-driven issue, Brubaker and Epting once again remind us that they are creating the best book in the industry today.

Mighty Avengers - 16
How did the Skrulls manage to get to Elektra? Well that question, as well as the huge reveal of who hired Electro to break everyone our of the Raft are answered in this action-packed issue. Bendis once again throws huge reveals into the story so nonchalantly, that you have to read it twice just to make sure that you got it all. Another great example of the sheer scope of the Secret Invasion story.

Punisher - 59
Garth Ennis’ last Punisher story continues here as we finally get to see the Rawlins Tape everyone has been after. What can I say about this book? It’s always awesome, and its a rare comic book that includes prose passages (excerpts from a book) that doesn’t suck. I can’t wait to see Ennis’ final bodycount on this story.

Ultimate Fantastic Four - 56
So, The Seven are actual One, and Agatha Harkness is Seven. Yeah, I’m confused too. Oh, and suddenly Sue Storm is making out with Namor for “comfort” because she’s scared. Weird. There were parts of this book that I felt like I was missing a page or two. Plus, the art still has that “unfinished” look to it. I wish someone would do something with these characters. Perhaps Ultimatem will cool them up.

Universal War One - 1
This book was the one I was waiting for from Marvel’s new Soleil line. Originally a French book, created over almost 10 years ago, UW1 is a fantastic piece of storytelling. The art is sharp and the writing witty, as this group of not-so-average soldiers takes to the skies. This is one of those rare books that I will probably buy the remaining issues of, as well as a trade because it will read so well as a graphic novel.

X-force - 5
And the hits just keep on coming! Not only are the Purifiers being hunted down by X-Force, but now they have to deal with… The Purifiers? Augmented by Angel’s wings, a bloody civil war starts up, and who’s about to turn the tide? Archangel. I’ve always loved Archangel, so hopefully his spot in this book will be permanent. A bloody affair, but one not to be missed!

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 10:36 am and is filed under Reviews, The Checklist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.