Reign in Hell #1 (of 8)

One-sentence summary: This ambitious mini-series begins with a declaration of intent, giving the reader a good feel for where it wants to go, and it's delivered well so far.

Hell is unfamiliar territory for DC. Not so much for Vertigo, no, but as a whole DC has left its Hell rather uncharted, with just an occasional demon popping up here and again. Consequently, Reign in Hell could supply something rather unfamiliar to mainstream comic fans -- an obvious world w/in the comic universe that remains uncharted.

First off, I was glad to get my dose of Shadowpact in this issue. It wasn't much, sure, but I was grief-stricken when that series got canceled, so it's just nice to see them again. There are a couple other cameos I won't spoil but were intriguing surprises to me. The art is great, with that sort of gritty detail that's been a mainstay for Hell since Bosch. The story seems solid, with definite direction and purpose, which is nice to see in a premiere issue. The dialog is...ok. I'm pretty neutral toward it; it never grabbed me, but it also never distracted me, so that balances out. What really sells this title to me is the purpose: organizing DC's Hell only to break it apart, and possibly how magic works (though that never seems to amount to much). I'd like this to reflect the events in Final Crisis, but I'm guessing it won't, since anything with even a vague connection to that series is stamped all over.

The back-up story was a bit weaker, I thought. Maybe it was my unfamiliarity with Dr. Occult, but I just found myself one step behind the whole story through; this isn't that rare for first issues, though, so I won't condemn it for that.

All said, at the end of this Hell will no longer be so unfamiliar. Whether that will add a neat element to the DCU or if it will simply eliminate one of the few true unknowns in that universe, we'll see.

Ambush Bug: Year None #1

One-sentence summary: How many jokes you get from this book is essentially like a scale of how much of a comics nerd you are -- casual readers beware.

Ambush Bug is one of those characters you either love, hate, or have never heard of because he's almost as obscure as the jokes he makes. If you doubt my emphasis on the obscurity of the jokes, here's a list of some of the references I caught and remember off the top of my head:

• Sugar & Spike (comic from early Silver age about a couple of kids)
• Several references to earlier Ambush Bug mini-series (such as Cheeks, or Jenni DC)
• Girlfriend-in-the-fridge
• Captain Carrot
• Etc

So, I defend that this book is really for die-hard comics fans only. There'll be plenty for them to laugh at, sure, but this is probably the most self-referential book put out in the last few years; it's definitely not for the casual reader. Is that good or bad? Am I one of the ones who loves Ambush Bug, or do I hate him?

I almost feel like leaving this review on a cliffhanger in honor of him, but I'll not and just say the Bug makes me laugh. And that probably is a sign of how high on the scale of comic nerd I rest.

Countdown #29

One-sentence summary: While, technically, things happened in this issue, nothing of any importance did, which is a bit irritating.

I've probably given Countdown more patience than the average comic book reader. However, between the three Countdown tie-in titles a week (Captain Carrot? Really now?) that serve no purpose (looking at you, Search for Ray Palmer), and issues like this, which I'll rant about more next paragraph, well, they wear a reader out.

This seemed like some sort of bizarro issue, where the main title did nothing but support the tie-in titles' existences, and even then fairly thinly. It reminds me of watching the Turtles (of the Teenage Mutant Ninja kind) as a kid and them having their annual hour-long special which, I would realize later, served no purpose except to introduce characters which had already been made as a action figures, or had molds in process. That seemed to be the logic behind this issue. We had the exhilirating conclusion to the Jokester's plotline in that, well, he died. We introduced Lord Havokk or whatever his name is in order to to sell that 8 issue mini-series starting next month.

However, it's not all bad. I do like how ridiculously evil Mary Marvel has become so instantly. The Amazon storyline still doesn't interest me, which is pretty impressive considering how easily interested I am. The Karate Kid storyline, however, is pretty great, even if they only gave it a page this week. I'm definitely looking forward to see how badly Batman has managed to eff the world up again through Brother Eye. I'm not particularly interested in this DC-wide subplot of metahumans being captured and stored (I guess Marvel has ripped off of DC enough that turnabout's fair play), although I could have my opinions quickly turned if they actually did something with it (as is, the Suicide Squad series is still pretty unfocused).

The art's improved in this issue, I'd say. I'm sure there are some who'd say otherwise, but from my quick read nothing stood out too badly, and that's a good thing for a weekly title.

All in all, not too bad, really, but DC is doing some marketing things that are done tactlessly enough that they're distracting, and that gets to me.

Annhilation Conquest -- Starlord #1 (of 4)

One-sentence summary: Beginning with the recent history of Starlord, this book lays out the foundation for the Dirty Dozen-esque sci-fi story set in the Annhilation arc.

I do have a soft spot for the Annhilation stuff, so that should be kept in mind. I liked this issue. I thought the art was a bit weird for the setting, but it wasn't bad, and so far it's worked alright. The story is pretty basic, but that's not a bad thing, really, just means it won't be breaking literary ground (which I wasn't expecting anyway). The dialogue's been fun so far, and the characters are certainly interesting. I'm not sure what to think of the return of Rocket Raccoon, but I'm pretty sure I'm happy about it. In general, this looks like it will be the fun Annhilation side-story, but that could rapidly change -- we'll just have to wait to see what they have in store for the characters.

I'm looking forward to the rest of this story. With fun dialogue, interesting characters, a solid story (so far), and a setting I've thoroughly enjoyed over the last year, I'm looking forward to the rest of the Starlord series.