@Tom_Kray Comic Reviews

Peter Parker is back, which thrills me to no end and though Im demanding a lot from this issue its because Spider-Man has such a long history and a lot to live up to. Is it a knock out? No. But it is a good welcome back to life Peter book. And I promise no more exclaiming, "Peters back!" from now on.

This is a fun issue. The bumpy start of 700.1 and 700.2 are behind us. It looks like Peter just needed a couple issues to shake the cobwebs off-ahem-and get back into the swing of things. Im sorry, no more puns. If you havent been reading ASM, this is great issue to jump in on.

As a stand alone issue its fun, theres fighting, explosions, and a few jokes but nothing that blew me out of the water.

For a one-shot, its not terrible; humorous although Spider-Man does give up the main stage to the FF. Five issues into the 700 point stories of ASM and Im just feeling under whelmed. I love Spider-Man but Im not feeling like Im getting my moneys worth with these books. I hate to drop this series, especially after waiting so long for Peter Parker to come back but I just dont feel like the series is delivering. As much as it pains me to say it, Amazing Spider-Man is on the chopping block. If the next issue doesnt step up from what weve been seeing I may just have to walk away from this one.

I firmly believe that story is king and taken on its own Batman 28 is not a story in any sense. Whatever value it has as part of the larger D.C. universe it's almost nothing on it's own, little more than a "coming attractions" flyer that you pay for. The inclusion of the American Vampire preview almost makes the book worse because you're still expecting a half a dozen more pages for the issue to go somewhere. Are there going to be people who disagree with me? Many and vocally. Thats fine. But this issue feels strongly like the title is holding up the content rather than the other way around.

Coffin Hill is magical-realist book that I suspect will have more than a few thriller elements in it before too long. I took a gamble on it when I saw the cover, and took it home knowing nothing else and it turned out to be one of the best impulse buys Ive ever made. Issue 1 is the work of team that has a clear idea of where theyre taking this book even if they dont plan on letting us in on that just yet.

While Coffin Hill #2 felt bland after #1 Im not ready to call it a one-hit-wonder. After all, #1 was an oversized issue and raised a lot of questions that #2 began answering, it just would have been nice if it had asked a few more of its own in the process. Its not a knockout book but I think it will serve its purpose in the larger context of the story.

Issue 3 restored my hopes for Coffin Hill, putting issue 4 on my to buy list for next month.

This book is wild, funny, casually violent, and just a bit sexy. So the bottom line of Harley Quinn #1 is yes. Just yes. Buy this one.

Harley Quinn #2 is not a bad issue; its just not particularly good either. While its funny in a cutesy sort of way, it losses the momentum built up in the first issue, which is particularly disappointing because I had been really anxious to my hands on this one. While events do unfold, theyre not connected to what has happened already nor do they seem particularly important on their own.

On top of the flaws with Harley, the story is going for laughs, I see where the jokes are, but theyre just not funny. Cheesy puns are par for the course but that should be an endearing nod to her characters origin not the sole source of humor in the book.

This book didnt blow me away but Im still really happy with it. It feels like they have a plan for where theyre taking the story and they did a good job of getting it started. If you want to read a different type of superhero book, this is fun one. Ill definitely be picking up issue 2.

While not as good as issue one, issue two does push the story forward, if not as much as I would have liked. This is a series that will probably read better in trade since the writing and art are both solid its just being tripped up by not covering enough ground in each issue. Hopefully well see the pace pick up in the next issue now that the world and conflict have been established. At the end of the day Im not giving up the series, Ill be picking up issue three and my fingers are crossed that things will really be moving by then.

Despite the latest issue, I still like the series. I do have enough faith in this team to believe what theyre showing us in the flashbacks will be important, but for being so early in the series I think there is too much focus on seeding ideas for later than making the issues interesting on their own.

This is a stunning start to a new series that balances character driven storytelling with sex and humor. If you weren't immediately driven off by the title, I say pick this one up.

This is solid follow-up to issue one, though not as funny overall as the first, there is still plenty of humor in the book. This issue moves past the novelty of the books concept and establishes that Sex Criminals is going to be about character above all else. If you liked issue one, issue two isnt going to disappoint.

While not as good as the first two issues, its still a good book in a great series. If you missed it and cant find it, dont worry. You can read #1, #2, and #4 and youll be able to follow along with the story. Bottom line its fun (and recommended) but totally optional.

Sex Criminals 4 did exactly what this issue needed to do. It focused on Jon and Suzies new foil, giving us enough detail about them to entice us but still keeping them mysterious. I really believe in Fractions ability to tell a good story, that being said Im still going to bemoan his flashbacks. But at the end of the day it is a stylistic choice to pace the story that way and blend character history with current action. And my critiques to that end serve less to highlight a failure on his part so much as impatience for story development, on mine.

A fun sort of book for Sherlock Holmes fans but a middle of the road start for a new series. My interest in knowing what happens next feels like it's driven by my investment in the world of Sherlock Holmes rather than the book itself. I think this story has a lot of potential but at a shelf-price of $3.99 I cant whole-heartedly recommend it. This is a flip through before you buy. Ill be picking up issue two but its going to need to make up for lost ground if for me to go beyond that.