Playing Catch-Up: What I've Been Doing

So.

After my two-week break, I'm back to talk comics. Or to catch you up on the comics I've been talking about elsewhere at least.

Since I last posted, I reviewed a whole bunch of comics for CBR (with linkery for you to enjoy):

Daredevil Noir #1
Northlanders #16
Batman Confidential #28
Captain America #49
Punisher #4
Squadron Supreme #10
Green Lantern Corps #25
Astonishing X-Men #29
Skrull Kill Krew #1

And I tackled the career of the awesome Bernie Mireault in a two-part retrospective/interview in "When Words Collide":

Me on Mireault's Masterpieces
Me talking comics with Mireault

But you already knew that, I'm sure.

What do I have in store for the future of "Geniusboy Firemelon"? I don't know, but I'm back!

Punisher #2 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Punisher #2, about which I write the following sentences: "But that’s not what Rick Remender and Jerome Opena are doing here, anyway. What they’re doing is answering the question: What would the Punisher do in a world run by Norman Osborn? It’s a fundamentally different scenario for the Punisher to be in -- he isn’t a rogue vigilante in a world populated with mobsters and drug-runners and slave traders. He's a vicious hero in a world that has been taken over by the supervillain military-industrial complex. It opens narrative possibilities that Matt Fraction didn't have in 'Punisher War Journal.' It allows the Punisher to play a more important role in the Marvel Universe proper, instead of being relegated to the back-alleys and blackened rooftops. "

Read the entire review HERE.

Gigantic #2 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Gigantic #2, about which I write the following sentences: "Its high concept 'Godzilla' meets 'Truman Show' approach -- the basic scenario is that the Earth was created as a reality show for aliens to watch, and they've injected a monster into the middle of it to boost ratings -- works well because it's simple and it's pretty damn cool. It's a concept that even my seven-year-old son can grasp, and he thoroughly enjoyed the first two issues as much as I did. But Rick Remender doesn't stop working after he's set the high concept loose. One of the things that makes this comic rise above the simplicity of its concept is that Remender includes evocative details that bring the concept to vivid, multi-colored life."

Read the entire review HERE.

Booster Gold #13 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Booster Gold #13, about which I write the following sentences: "But with the Chuck Dixon two-parter, and now the beginning of a short stint by Rick Remender, the series is showing how easily it can all come apart at the seams. The problem here is that nothing matters. It's all just alternate realities and time ripples and everything's going to be solved by Booster going back in time and punching the right bad guy at the right moment. Since nothing matters and since there's little overall plot progression, 'Booster Gold' feels like a series of fill-in issues. Now, it has been a series of fill-in issues for the past few months, so that has, of course, accentuated the problem. But even fill-in issues don't have to feel like fill-ins. They can contribute to the overall narrative. These don't. They're just filler stories about time anomalies."

Read the entire review HERE.

Punisher War Journal #24 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Punisher War Journal #24 about which I write the following sentences: "Here's a strange beast: a 'Secret Invasion' crossover that has neither the word 'secret' nor the word 'invasion' anywhere on the cover. Instead, we get Alex Maleev's haunting image of Frank Castle behind bars and not even the slightest indication that a Skrull might rear its freakishly green head. Yet, this issue is absolutely full of Skrulls, and as much as I'm ready to take a break from the shape-shifting aliens after reading about them in every Marvel comic since the Spring, 'Punisher War Journal' #24 teaches an important life lesson: Skrulls are okay, folks. Especially when they're in the line of fire and Frank Castle is holding the arsenal."

Read the entire review HERE.