Reviewing New Comics 11/30/11

FF #12 - This issue is both a continuation and a king of side quest from Fantastic Four #600 which came out last week (and was awesome even though I didn't review it). We get to find out what is happening with the kids of the Future Foundation as they transported the top floors of the Baxter Building away from the Negative Zone invaders and into Latveria. The kids encounter Doctor Doom, his son, Mister Fantastic's father from the future, and an alternate universe Mister Fantastic who is slightly evil but with good intentions. What follows is back story filling in important gaps in this epic story Hickman is telling, fun character bits on the kids, and a bit of science jibber jabber. It is well done and compelling, if you have been reading this book for a while and focusing on this big war of kingdoms going on right now. It is far from a jumping on point, which is fine comics are serial in nature. My only real complaint with this book is the art, I quite like the style and the texture, but it doesn't work for the story nor does it flow well with the art from the rest of this massive story. It is nit picking though. 4/5

Haunt #19 - This is the start of a new age for Haunt, the creator owned book originally made by Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman, there is a new writer in Joe Casey and artist Nathan Fox. Two brothers, one dead and the other alive and kicking team up to be a super powered secret agent. Apparently the dead brother can turn into a symbiotic costume that makes the alive brother all bad ass. Or I guess that is what is going on, none of that is really explained. Nor are the supporting cast members who are referenced but never seen and have mysteriously disappear, which hurts the case for new reader friendly even more. BUT there is some great banter between the two brothers, some very good art, and the final few pages made me go wtf in both a good and bad way. Maybe this wasn't supposed to be a new jumping on point, even though Todd McFarlane states that this is a new direction in an essay in the back. I do know I trust Joe Casey to make good comics, and Fox's art is very good. Now if I could just be a bit more sure about what is going on inside the book, I guess the alive brother is our point of view, because he is as lost as I am. We will see if it starts to make sense come issue 20. 3/5

Herc #10 - This comic is so much fun! Hercules fights alongisde a mortal Zeus against both Elektra and the immortal witch Baba Yaga and along the way we see the Kingpin beat up a very drunk Zeus, Hercules mock both of them, and Hercules continue to hit on Elektra as they confront each other. There is so much greatness in this comic and have been in this series (especially if you count the previous Incredible Hercules run by the same writers) that I just can't find a way to even begin to describe it, and I'm still flabbergasted that this is the last issue of the run, ruthlessly cancelled by Marvel. But despite that, this issue works as a nice cap to another chapter in Hercules story, I hope somehow we get more Herc done by Pak and Ven Lente, but if we don't I will be okay with that too, it has been such an amazing ride. 4.5/5

Skullkickers #12 - Just like Herc before it, Skullkickers is a super fun book! This issue feature 4 short stories with various writers and artists showing off random adventures of the two main characters, nicknamed Shorty (he's a dwarf) and Baldy (he is a bald human) who just rampage and enjoy a bar fight as much as they do killing the next giant monster, as long as they get paid! The best story in here is the first one, but each one is so well done it is hard to settle on that. We have a giant fight with musicians who hide weapons in their instruments, a flashback to Shorty before he met Baldy, a fight with an alluring witch, and just an old fashion monster hunt that is told in the most nontraditional style ever. Do yourself a favor and pick this up if you want fun in your comic. The next issue features the start of the next story arc and the creators take full reign again, this is just a fun diversion issue that fleshes out one of the most wild fantasy worlds around. If you ever played Dungeons and Dragons and spent a night (or several) joking around and just wanting to kill stuff, this book is for you, and this issue is a great start! 5/5

Thunderbolts #166 - First, I love the art for this issue, it is moody, dark, and just well done. Second, I don't recognize half of the characters in this issue, and it makes me want to learn more about them! I haven't read this book since issue 150, so of course a lot has changed, yet I feel like I had a good grasp on what was going on and who the characters were even though I haven't followed the book and have jumped into things mid arc. THIS is how super hero books should be written more often than not, easily accessible even though you don't know all the details. The plot is dealing with time travel, as the team is stuck in the time of Jack the Ripper and maybe Jack was actual a team member who has went back in time with them as Mr Hyde and Santana have gone off the edge and went forth murdering. The team (all former villains themselves) join forces with the detective on the case and try to find the two members who have returned to their evil ways. What follows is interesting character moments that define and shape the team without forcing it, an interesting mystery, and a bit of time travel fun while being a well drawn moody piece. 5/5

Tiny Titans #46 - Probably the best use of the hooded woman from the new DCU yet happens in this book. There is also some great artwork and a perfect few pages involving bats and penguins. Sure it is for kids, but it was a lot of fun, and frequently very funny. 4/5

Uncanny X-Men #2 - How do you fight an uncountable amount of Mister Sinisters? That is the question posed by this issue as the most powerful team of X-Men tries to find out the answer. The actual fight at the start is brief but entertaining, the real meat of the issue lies in Mister Sinister calmly talking to the team in a pursuit to give his evil bastard speech and just be an egotist. It is very well done and at many times, hilarious. The final few pages make it feel like Sinister is unstoppable now, and with a huge army of copies along with Celestials on their way to blindly destroy, the new issue or two should be full of huge dangers to the X-Men, which is how it should be. Another bonus about this issue? There aren't pages discussing the split between Cyclops and Wolverine, which I'm tired of already after only a month. 4/5