Whodunnit?

Avengers The Initiative 6 by Dan Slott and Steve Uy

There were some good bits and bad bits in this issue. In my opinion most of the bad bits come from the fact that there are so many characters in this series - and most of them were new to me. The new artist didn't help matters in this area either.

I wonder how this issue fits in with the latest issue of New Avengers as Tigra features in both in quite different way?

This issue was a reasonable read, but I'm yet to resonate with any of the characters and so can't really care less that Gauntlet has been taken down.

Rating 6.5/10

Y and T Rocks Nuneaton again

13 months after an amazing gig at Queens Hall , Nuneaton, Y&T returned to play yet another great concert. They changed the set list around quite a bit and I think they played

01 Open Fire
02 Hungry For Rock
03 Hard Times
04 Dirty Girl
05 Masters And Slaves
06 Mean Streak
07 I'll Keep On Believin'
08 Straight Thru The Heart
09 This Time
10 Hurricane
11 Midnight In Tokyo
12 Black Tiger
13 I'll Cry For You
14 Eyes Of A Stranger
15 Rescue Me
16 Summertime Girls
17 I Believe In You
18 Forever

The Queens Hall is such a small and intimate venue - I love it. I forecast that this will be a better gig than Sabbath in a fortnight!

The Constant Gardener

I watched this film on Saturday night.

It was certainly a powerful film but he couldn't say that I enjoyed it and would want to watch it again. But, I am pleased that I've watched it.

Good performances by the stars and a powerful message about how the West treats Africa.

October Comic Reviews

I've reviewed some good and bad new comics recently, this bunch were generally OK.

I was slightly disappointed with Fantastic Four #550 by Dwayne McDuffie & Paul Pelletier. Mainly because recent issues have been very good and I didn't feel that this issue was of the same quality. The art was still good but I didn't think that the plot worked in terms of drama and resolution. The villain(s) was a bit faceless and the solution a bit contrived and complicated.

A bit of a let down.

One last point, I'm pleased it was Sue's bum and not Ben's that took prominence on the cover. Not a good effort by Michael Turner and I never like to see Reed stretching his neck.

Rating 6/10



When this story in Mighty Avengers is finished I'm going to have to go back and re-read it. I'm sure that it will make more sense and be generally better overall.

There has been some discussion over on the Comics Should Be Good web site about decompressed storytelling and Bendis in particular. This is a good example of his style.


Frank Cho's art and cover are good points and it's a shame he will be leaving the title soon (but good news for it's frequency!)

Rating 6.5/10 (as a monthly read)




Don't get excited by the cover to New Avengers #34 by Bendis and Yu. This scene does not happen in this issue.

In fact, 90% of the issue focuses on The Hood and his plan to use the chaos that super-heroes are currently finding themselves in to make lots of money. The character of The Hood seems to be slightly different to that of the original in the trade I read just recently. But it's still quite a good issue. Some good dialogue and a nice idea. The only hero that turns up in the issue is Tigra and she doesn't come off too well.

Rating 7/10



I probably didn't need to buy this annual and, if you don't, you won't miss anything vital.

It's quite a good story by a new creative team (to me at least) Gregg Hurwitz and Marcelo Frusin. I particularly liked Frusin's art as it was a good European style.

Rating 6.5/10

Iron Man trailer

I've just seen this on the Comics Can Be Good Website and thought it was cool. Here's the YouTube link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFlwtFx9Fgo

Not Good Comics

Two major comics - two poor efforts!


World War Hulk #4 of 5 by Greg Pak, John Romita Jnr, Klaus Jansen

Lets put aside the art for a minute when considering this comic.

I thought it was crap. There was no explanation (or re-cap) as to how and why a possessed Doc Strange ws battling the Hulk at the beginning. The fight ws awful. Everyone is acting out of character and, well, just everything about the plot and script of this comic annoys me.

I really didn't like it.

I'm a crap reviewer as I just can't be bothered to analyse it any further.

Rating 3/10 (and only that high because of the art)

It's a shame that Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man # 24 by Straczynski and Quesada is nearly as bad.

The story takes too long to get to where it's going (and I don't like where it heading), the plot is not very exciting and I'm not enjoying Quesada's art.

The big question is do I get part 3 which is in Sensational Spider-man # 41. Probably not. I'll just read the conclusion in the next issue of Amazing and hope that when the new creative team(s) start that things will improve.

Rating 3/10

New Captain America and Wolverine

I keep saying the same thing about Ed Brubakers and Steve Epting's Captain America. I think it's very good and will probably be excellent when read in one sitting.

I'm quite happy to get the comics rather than the trades as Epting's covers are ace.

As for the story - things are not going well for Stark and Shield as the Red Skull's plans continue. I've got a feeling that things might get even worse but it's hard to see how after that last scene in issue #31.

Rating 8/10

Both issues #17 and 18 of Wolverine:Origins also feature Cap and Bucky as we are treated to their first meeting with Wolverine.

It's enjoyable but not great or probably essential reading.

Rating 7.5/10