April 2008 Reads Part II.

Fantastic Four #556: I like this series, not a lot of people are saying nice things about this run, but I enjoy this book every month. It's not perfect, but then again, not a whole lot of comics are. The one kind of cheesy thing was that they teleported like half of the Marvel Universe to this new world they're building to deal with the security system (code named "Cap" and it's a huge Captain America robot). I thought that was a little gratuitous. I mean, I buy the book because it's about the Fantastic Four, not as reason to stick Wolverine and Iron Man in yet another comic. But besides that, I thought it was actually a pretty good book. Can't wait for next month's installment.

Kick-Ass #2: This one was surprisingly good. It came out a week or so ago, I just didn't pick it up until last week because I finally found where my comic shop keeps it (with the indie books). I flipped through it at the store and it looked interesting so I rolled the dice. It was pretty entertaining and it took significant steps from the first issue. I think I'm going to keep buying it. Does anyone know if this is a limited series or a regular series. I can't find any info about that on Marvel's site. They've had a lot of success lately with their one-off limited series (like The Twelve) so I hope this has an ending and won't get canceled out of the blue and we're left with a hanging storyline. Because Marvel would never do that, right?

New Avengers #38-39: I decided to take the plunge and bought the last issue that came out as well as the issue before it. These two were interesting, the first one has to do with Luke Cage and his baby-mamma drama, and the second one focuses on Echo. It also introduces the new Condo that they're going to be living in because they're still on the run. I actually liked the two issues I read, so I've got high hopes for this one and I will keep buying it. It seems like it's got a lot going on though, so I'm going to try and find some back-issues on eBay. I've had some pretty bad luck with eBay lately, so hopefully I can find a reputable seller.

I do have one interesting observation, and that is; what the hell is Wolverine's costume budget? He fought against the X-Men Skrull in the last issue (who was posing as Daredevil) and within five seconds of fighting him, Wolvie's costume got shredded. This reminds me of Uncanny X-men #200-220 run, where he pretty much had a brand-new costume every issue because he was tearing through them at an alarming rate. I mean, over time, that's gotta add up, right? Cuz that's a lot of spandex. Has it ever been explained where he gets money for costumes and other expenses? And he's all over the world too, those flights have to be expensive. I'm just sayin'; it's never explained how he pays for all of this stuff. Does he have a bank account from like the 1890's and he just lives off of the compound interest? What's the deal? And Professor X; was it ever explained how he got his money and how much he has? Because if you think back to how many times the Mansion has been blown up and rebuilt, that's a lot of money right there. And av-gas/maintenance for the Blackbird can't be cheap either. I know I'm talking about comic book characters, but seriously, someone has some 'splainin to do.

Wolverine #64: This one was good, but it seemed like a filler issue. In fact, after I finished reading it, I was starting to think that this whole storyline is filler. The flashbacks are cool and all, but they don't really relate to the real-time story. I guess we're finally going to see Wolvie and Mystique go toe-to-toe in the next issue, and my question is; why couldn't we have seen that in the first issue of this story-arc? The last three issues have been a giant chase with Mystique escaping each time. It feels like I've read the same story three times in a row. This one had an interesting Logan using an interesting infiltration technique to get into the Army base where Mystique was posing as General or Senator or something, but that was about it. This next issue has a lot to make up for in my opinion.


Tomorrow, I plan on buying Incredible Hercules #116 (can't wait to read that one), Wolverine Origins #24, X-Factor #30 (Featuring...Arcade. Good God.) and X-Men: Divided We Stand #1.