Wow. A rough week. My go-to joint didn’t have all of the books I expected it to have. As a result, my bag’s a little lighter than I hoped it’d be.

• Uncanny X-Men #11 (This is what I’ve been waiting for!  It’s Bendis’s best turn on an X-book: stuff actually happens, which is remarkable on its own, sure, but it happens to happen with an uncanny urgency, which is actually kind of all-new for Uncanny; and Irving’s art is stunning–sometimes impossibly so–and exciting, upping the urgency ante page after page.  OK, so, this either sets up really well the Battle of the Atom crossover to come, or, more likely, it has set the bar too high.  Who knows what the future holds?)

Uncanny X-Men #11

• The Massive #15 (The opening sequence, which establishes a tipping point in the relationship between Mag and Georg, is like walking the plank and falling into a sea of tension.  Amazingly, Wood and Brown are able to keep the sea roiling even as they rush awkwardly toward the end of the arc; yeah, they certainly haven’t heeded Callum’s wise yet naive call for a more tempered pace: “This isn’t a race”; but, thanks to some shrewd moves, the tension is still very much in-your-face.  Oh, and suddenly Mary’s The Massive‘s Mara?  Can’t wait to see how that works out.)

The Massive #15

• Mind the Gap #13 (An excellent issue.  The stingy Jim McCann answers some important questions and does so using two terrific narratives.  The juxtaposition of the past and the present is played up superbly, in part, thanks to the very different styles of artists Rodin Esquejo and Dan McDaid.  Elle may be dying, but Mind the Gap is very much alive!)
• Mind MGMT #14 (If you’re the kind of person who can’t help but judge a book by its cover, then this is the book for you.  So wonderful–inside and out.  Kindt unearths more about Meru–herself a novel nymph–and does so beautifully, inundating each page with his signature watercolors, proving once and for all that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.)

Mind MGMT #14

• Batman/Superman #3 (Similar to Mind the Gap, the past and the present are tackled by two artists with decidedly different styles–here, it’s Jae Lee on “now” and Yildiray Cinar on “then.”  Interesting idea, having Clark and Bruce meet as children.  Outside of that, Greg Pak continues to serve up a potentially clumsy story with a deft hand.  Yup: he’s still monkeying about in Morrisonville, but it’s all good: see, he’s making good on the majesty we all crave when it comes to Superman–Supermen, in this case–and the mystery we want from any and all Batmen.)
• Thumbprint #3 (The challenge was pretty great: live up to or surpass somehow the first two issues–each an I&N Book of the Month, by the way.  Unfortunately, in the end, like Mal’s necklace, the creative team–adapting Joe Hill’s original story–proved to be all thumbs as they twiddled together this finale.  Thumbprint–last month, one issue away from glory–is left to join the ranks of the many mediocre minis that misfired the final round.)
• Uncanny #3 (Ended up better than I expected it’d be after last issue.  I guess I’ll stick around for another.)
• Ultimate Spider-Man #26 (Here I was, after #25, all excited that Miles was back in the suit; heck, I even gave Bendis credit for manipulating me–a staunch maskless Miles supporter–toward that excitement.  And what do I get for my trouble?  An homage to Where’s Waldo?  I guess they weren’t kidding with the “Spider-Man No More” banner on the cover.  Sheesh.)
• FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics #2 (Umm…what was wrong with Collider?  “A rose by any other name,” right?  Whatever the title, not particularly interesting–not until the end, anyway.  Don’t think it’ll be enough to inspire me to grab #3, though.  There’s got to be a formula…  Where’s Mr. McKlinsky when I need him?)
• The Extinction Parade #2 (Not bad.  Despite globetrotting at a bite-neck pace, a bit leaden at times.  No surprise here: my wife, again, enjoyed it more than I did.)
• American Vampire Anthology #1 (Herein lies the brilliance of Scott Snyder: teams of renowned writers and artists rip and tear their ways through the AV mythology, leaving a blood trail of vignettes, one better than the next.  Like the vamps in Ba and Moon’s “Last Night,” I’m “hungry for more.  Very hungry”–and I can’t wait to see what happens next!)

American Vampire Anthology #1

So, yeah, my local shops, for some reason, were not well-stocked this week.  They didn’t have Lazarus #3, TMNT #25, or FF #11.  Crazy, right?  Luckily, I have a friend in DerekNerd, who just so happens to call Midtown Comics his regular Wednesday haunt.  He was able to score them for me; just have to wait until Monday to get my hands on ’em.

Turning pages,

Scott