Also among this week's comics...

CAPTAIN AMERICA #20 - The end of Dave Gibbons' alternate reality storyline.  This was originally commissioned as a miniseries, as I recall, and it's fairly obvious why.  Next issue the series resumes its attempt to make Captain America topical and relevant; Gibbons' old-school superhero story stands out a mile in the context of the series.  That said, it's also far and away the most successful story they've run in this series, if only because Captain America actually works in this sort of story.  The more shades of grey you add, the worse he fits.  Cute ending with a nod to mainstream continuity, as well - albeit slightly undermined by using the original publication dates.  B

LOVE FIGHTS #5 - Namor is being cancelled with issue #12, but don't worry about that.  It's not the best place to see what Andi Watson does.  Love Fights is much stronger work, combining the superhero and romance genres in the same way that Powers combined it with the police procedural.  The series might be a bit too limited in its appeal to the existing comics audience - not only does it have a superhero backdrop, but we now have a subplot about poor quality inking.  Regardless, Watson's skill is in building believable out of the relatively mundane, and if it's a bit narrow in focus, it's still very successful at what it's trying to do.  A

QUEEN & COUNTRY #20 - And what's that next to it on the shelf?  Why, it's Queen & Country #19, which Diamond UK have finally seen fit to deliver to Edinburgh, a mere month after it actually came out.  Useless bastards.  Anyway, aside from that thematic link, I thought I'd mention this series because it's still a great spy book - strong characters, strong plotting.  I'm still not entirely convinced that artist Carla Speed McNeill is a good match for the book, but as with every arc, it starts to seem indisputably correct by the end.  A-

Last week's Article 10 is still up at Ninth Art.

Next week, if we're lucky, NYX #2 and Wolverine: Snikt! #5 might actually show up in my store.  Who can say?

Wolverine #8 is the only other book on the schedule for next week.  Cable & Deadpool #1 and New X-Men #149 were also meant to be out this week, but no word on them.  Sometimes they just come out anyway.  Or alternatively, maybe Cable & Deadpool is just going for that authentic Liefeld vibe.

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