THE WEEK IN COMICS: FEB. 28

Smaller week this time around...

52 #43 - J.G. Jones has been doing amazing covers for this series throughout but I am particularly enamored with this one, featuring Animal Man and done in a style akin to Brian Bolland, who was the cover artist for the great Animal Man series (available in three trades that are must reads). Animal Man is only featured briefly in the issue, as the yellow aliens put him back together again - I'm ready to see more of that storyline (which will have to happen soon). The bulk of this issue is spent on the Black Marvel Family (Black Adam, Isis, Osiris, and Sobek) and the Marvel Family (Captain, Mary, and Junior), as Osiris rebels against Black Adam and is talked down by the others (or is he?). The whole thing comes to a shocking end as well. So far, these various storylines are paying off well and this one promises to continue to next week (as well as the upcoming World War III mini). I should also mention the pencils of Dan Jurgens, who I've always enjoyed. Only 9 more issues left...

Action Comics #846 - Another late issue but another issue that was worth the wait in general. General Zod, Ursa, and Non go to the Fortress of Solitude and then to Metropolis to call out Superman. Zod and Ursa's son doesn't want to go with them. There are also some comedic bits before the big confrontation that work. And the ending is a good cliffhanger. It's too bad some of the momentum will be lost due to the lateness of Adam Kubert; his stuff does look good, at least. It's been a long time since I enjoyed both Superman books like this.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #27 - Lots of stuff going on here...lots of characters. I kept up with it pretty well and liked it well enough to keep reading; I'll definitely need to start catching up via trades. Not sure how I managed to go almost 7 years without buying any Legion comics - just goes to show where my head was at, I guess.

I also picked up Wizard, as I mentioned in earlier posts. It's not a very sophisticated comics magazine but I do enjoy looking at the coverage of mainstream comics - it's a way I can be somewhat informed without being able to read as much as I'd like to.

Next week sees the release of the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series as well as the conclusion to the first arc of Criminal (and another 52!). Looking forward to those...