Also this week:

ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER #1 - Um... right.  Well, it's the origin of Robin.  And there's a woman wandering around with no clothes on for no apparent reason.  If you're expecting any sort of new or different take on the characters, then you're going to be hugely disappointed.  It's competent enough, but nothing more than that.  I'll return to this book in more detail on Monday at Ninth Art, but for the moment, colour me deeply unimpressed.  C

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #21 - Hmm.  For all that Marvel will claim that they never strictly speaking promised a crossover with the mainstream Marvel Universe, my false advertising alarm is still ringing pretty loudly.  Of course, it might just be more misdirection, but when you hype up the book by indicating it's a crossover, and call the book "Crossover", it leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth to end with a completely different version of the FF and the words "Ever get the feeling you've been had?"  I'm sure Mark Millar thinks it's hilarious, but then he would, wouldn't he?  Mind you, I'd have bought the book anyway, and as a comic in its own right, it's pretty damned good - it's a nice little bait and switch, judged purely in narrative terms, and the scenes with the two Reeds are well pitched.  But Marvel have got to get it through their heads that you have to deliver on the hype, at least to some extent.  Otherwise the readers stop listening to the hype at all, and then where are you?  A-

There's a new Article 10 on Monday at Ninth Art.

Next week, House of M ploughs on in (deep breath) House of M #4, Cable/Deadpool #17, Secrets of the House of M, Spider-Man: House of M #2 and Incredible Hulk #84.  Oh, and there's also a variant cover of House of M #4, and the Director's Cut of House of M #1.  Because god knows, with the blistering pace of this miniseries, there must some great material left on the cutting room floor.  Such as the plot.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Astonishing X-Men #11 continues the fight against the Danger Room, and Wolverine #30 has more of "Agent of SHIELD."  Exiles #67 features giant monsters, Ororo: Before the Storm #2 has kids in Cairo, and X-Men: Kitty Pryde - Shadow & Flame #2 has, er, more giant monsters in Japan, I suppose.

Over in the collected editions, Marvel Masterworks: X-Men vol 5 brings us more Silver Age material, while X-Force: Shatterstar may well prove ideal for propping up a wobbly table leg or something.

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