Dream Thief #1: Each week, I make a consorted effort to pick up a book either non-superhero related or at least something unassociated with the Big Two. That means I often end up grabbing something from Dark Horse which, in turn, means I am left unsatisfied not unlike Nick Lachey was in his marriage to Jessica Simpson. But there's still always hope (unless you're still trying to get Obamacare repealed). That's probably why I picked up Jai Nitz's unconventional anti-hero fantasy about an unlovable protagonist who is thrown into an awful set of circumstances. Nitz's does a good job of throwing us head first into a day in the life of John Lincoln. When I said "unlovable," I was underselling it. Don Draper is a douchebag character. Jack from Lost is a douchebag character. Herman Cain is a douchebag character. If this comic were a movie, John Lincoln would be played by James Franco. Anyway, after douchebagging pretty much everyone he comes into contact with, he stumbles onto some special dream related abilities that do more harm to his life than good. I can't help but think that if Greg Smallwood weren't innovating on every page, making the panels so interesting and different with every turn of the page, this story might feel more run-of-the-mill than it actually is. All in all, this blend of American Psycho, Pineapple Express and The Twilight Zone makes for good read thus far.
Bottom Line: Very well handled "out of the box" approach to a possibly awesome suspense fantasy. 8 out of 10
Doomsday.1 #1: I honestly thought this was going to be a slow month in comics where I'd just be a). waiting for Daredevil: End of Days, b). waiting for Man of Steel in June and c). eagerly anticipating Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories." However, this month's pleasant surprise comes in the form of legendary super scribe John Byrne's return with this "end of the world" disaster epic. Basically, astronauts in a space station witness the majority of life on Earth get wiped out. I'm always worried about such a large cast of characters in such close narrative quarters, but Byrne seems to have a decent handle on them so far. They're just diverse enough that he has a lot of room for conflict and development. Still, with John Byrne work, although you appreciate what it is, you can't help but wince slightly at what could have been. The draw back here is that there's never a moment in which I'm shocked at what happens next. Despite being evenly paced and tightly built tension, the moments that should leave me saying "holy shit" still leave me just saying "Well...yeah."Byrne's pencils don't beat around the bush either, getting straight to the point much like his script. In fact, there are storyboards for television shows that could stand to learn a little something from this book about being direct instead of being artsy for art's sake. I wish we could have been left a little more of an ending to bring us back, but it was still a stronger start than several books out right now. After all, Superior Spider Man is still going, so this is worth a shot.
Bottom Line: It's not perfect John Byrne, but it's Byrne-tastic enough to pick up again. 8 out of 10.
Avengers- The Enemy Within #1: One of the awesome things about Marvel NOW is that we get more Captain Marvel. Not only that, we get Captain Marvel taken seriously (my kingdom for a woman with hair like that). The first issue in this mini series doesn't necessarily give us the feeling of scale that would justify a mini series event. In fact, the title is pretty misleading since this is basically just the next issue of Captain Marvel. We get some LOL moments during girl chat between Carol Danvers and Spider Woman, we get a beautifully penciled fight from Scott Hepburn, and most importantly, we get dinosaurs. I always approve of dinosaurs in comics. If comic book were run by the government, I'd be a dinosaur lobbyist. This seems to have all of the working parts necessary to be a good run. I suppose time will tell soon enough. For what it is, on its own, it's solid.
Bottom Line: Despite a deceiving title, the latest issue of Captain Marvel is a decent jumping-on point for a decent title. 7.5 out of 10
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