X-O Manowar Vol. 1: By the Sword

This book is utterly awesome in every sense of the word.  Aric Dacia is a warrior trapped out of his own time with an alien weapon at his disposal.  So far Valiant Comics is two for two in what I have read.  I am eagerly looking forward to the next volume of this book if you are board with Marvel or DC Comics, Valiant is a great alternative.  The Vine is a formidable collective enemy for Aric to go up against.  I really like how condensed this book was like Archer & Armstrong any longer & it might have lost its momentum.  I hope Aric is able to find some connection with this present world that he has returned to.  

Archer & Armstrong Vol. 1: The Michelangelo Code

Valiant Comics is like a clean slate that hasn't been bogged down in history & convoluted storylines.  Now I know this is a comic company that has risen from the ashes of the their demise in the late 90s, but for me as a reader this is fresh & new.  I have been hearing great things about Valiant for years & I am just now getting around to reading some of the titles.  Archer & Armstrong is a title that's part Lethal Weapon meets Indiana Jones meets The Da Vinci Code, which they even make fun of.  I really like the fact that Valiant is doing short story-arcs in single volumes if it had been longer I am sure it would still have been enjoyable but at the same time it could slowed & become monotonous.  One things that suffers with this method though is characterization not of the main characters but of secondary or tertiary characters & even villains.  Overall this was a good opening arc but I can see how some people would be turned off by this especially those offended by The Da Vinci Code.

Aquaman Vol. 2: The Others

This second volume of Geoff Johns Aquaman is one of the shining stars of the New 52.  Johns has deepened the mythos that surrounds this laughable character in recent years.  I was glued to this title from the moment I flip open the cover.  This volume takes us back to Arthur's early years of crime fighting & what truly makes Black Manta such a dangerous adversary.  I like the team of The Others, I just wish they had more screen time than just this one volume.

Wolverine: Three Months to Die Vol. 2

This final volume of the sixth series of the Wolverine title is little lack luster in climax of this complete arc that was started back in the first volume of the previous series.  I do like the fact that James is a double agent playing a criminal organization, forsaking the X-Men & the Avengers all while undercover with S.H.I.E.L.D.  Touted as the final Wolverine story simply doesn't make sense when there is still the Death of Wolverine story to get through.  I really liked the annual story titled Wolf & Cub which showcases Wolverine & Jubilee camping in the wilderness this one issue is a better read than most of Paul Cornell's run in my opinion.  This annual perfectly characterizes Logan's relationship with Jubilee & is truly a work of art to see how it matured over the years through all they have been through.  Don't get me wrong I feel that Cornell hit some truly wonderful character moments in his four volumes that he has had on the character, but compared with the unevenness of his writing throughout the series his run is still below the bar set by either Jason Aaron or Mark Millar.  The one thing I really loved about Cornell's run is using Creed as this big kingpin of crime & his downfall is such a shame because is seems that Sabretooth is truely his own worst enemy.  It stays true the character but falls short of the growth that I wanted to see in him.  I now eagerly await the release of the Death of Wolverine.

Wolverine: Three Months to Die Vol. 1

Marvel decided to start the Wolverine title over for a sixth time just to do one thirteen chapter story-arc.  Personally I don't see the point, Paul Cornell is still writing the book which is getting better the more issues I read.  I like the fact that Logan is vulnerable it adds another layer to the character that is refreshing in a way.  One of the scenes in this book that is truly unbelievable & know matter how many times I read it, it still seems out of character is the confrontation between Logan & Kitty.  This is the first half of the Three Months to Die arc that leads directly into the Death of Wolverine.  This is a good start but the second half will tell if it is truly great.

Shazam!

The reintroduction of Captain Marvel, I mean Shazam to the DC Universe via the New 52.  Billy Batson is your typical teenage he's rude, obnoxious & just a plain brat.  Through it all though Billy has the right end in sight even if the means are less than desirable.  The art is fantastic it works really well for this updated version of such a classic character.  I'm not sure how I feel about DC changing the name of the character, sure it makes sense for Billy to be Shazam instead of Captain Marvel but what about the rest of the Marvels.  One thing this book does really well is establish from the get go that Black Adam is one seriously powerful BAMF.  DC spent a lot of time building him up in the Pre-New 52 Universe.  I look forward to see where this leads since this is a character I know practically nothing about.

Saga Vol. 4

For some reason this book seemed a little off compared to previous volumes, maybe it was the slight time jump or that it has just been so long since I last picked up Saga.  I really liked how Brian & Fiona have taken the main couple of the story & separated them for a brief time.  It brings out this real world aspect to the book that many stories about young couples with a baby seem to glaze over.  It is such a trying time & when there is only one bread winner it creates a lot of stress in that family unit especially when the roles are reversed.  The conflict on the robots home world I have to say is the biggest surprise of this volume for me because it throws such a monkey wrench into Landfalls plans & the plans of the robot royal family.  One of the things I would have liked to see more of is The Will & his band in this book but alas one chapter is all  we got.  Brian & Fiona have created a universe full of magic & wonder but it is easily becoming apparent that it is almost too big for this medium to handle.  I found myself wanting more of characters previously introduced like the reporters,  Lying Cat & The Brand; also is Stalk still alive?  They were able to get all of these characters in but how long will it be before a character won't show up for an entire volume?

Captain Atom Vol. 2: Genesis

The second volume of Captain Atom seems a little to ambitious for the writer J.T. Krul & artist Freddie Williams II to pull off.  In other hands this could have been a true masterpiece of puzzle making leading to the explanation of the disappearance of the Post-Crisis Universe.  With great power comes great consequences this is a lesson that Captain Atom struggles with this entire volume & for an instance he even sees himself become the villain.  Captain Atom like Dr. Manhattan of Watchmen fame is a man given godlike powers because of an accident but unlike Dr. Manhattan, Nathaniel doesn't embrace his disconnection with humanity.  Instead he tries to reclaim it with disastrous results.  This book has a lot of self loathing with very little redemption.  I feel that these two volumes were a nice reintroduction to this somewhat obscure DC character but it would have been nice if DC comics would give this character another push with a different creative team.