Also this week...

100% #3  - Haitous trains for a fight while worrying about getting his woman back.  Meanwhile, John and Daisy discuss Tristan & Isolde, in one of those "isn't that reference a bit out of place for that character" scenes that I never feel entirely comfortable about.  Still, Paul Pope has me sufficiently sold on their relationship that I'll let it slide.  A-

BATGIRL #31 - Jesus, how long is this arc?  Three issues for a fill-in story about Green Arrow and a Roman Legion?  Seems a bit excessive, if you ask me, not to mention that it reads more like a Green Arrow story guest starring Batgirl than the other way round.  Nice art, though.  B-

BLACK PANTHER #48 - Part one of the "Death of the Black Panther" arc, a title which turns out to be both totally misleading and entirely accurate.  Spends a little too long on the fight with a hallucinatory Magneto, I think, but the basic premise of the storyline is a strong one.  B+

BLADE #5 - From the "Hey, is that book still going?" department.  And the answer is, "Not for long."  Unfortunately, this issue is a good illustration of why not.  Lots of violence, a convoluted plot, but very little in the way of sympathetic characters who I could care less about one way or the other.  It also features a really lumpen-looking swordfight.  C-

CALL OF DUTY: THE PRECINCT #2 - We seem to have completely abandoned the "celebrating New York's heroes" theme in favour of packing a policeman, his wife and his brother off on holiday together.  I'm really not clear where this series is heading at all - as with Brotherhood, there seems to be irritatingly little progression in the main story, and when it comes to police dramas, I can get more than enough of them on TV.  This is okay, but it doesn't really stand out.  B-

FABLES #4 - Penultimate part of the opening story arc, which sort of drags everything out in order to promise a big explanation next issue.  The semi-explanation we get here is a bit of a cop-out on the mystery plot, to be honest, but we'll have to see next month whether Bill Willingham has a sufficiently compelling story to get away with it.  B

FILTH #3 - Ah, it's one of Grant Morrison's favourite themes - fictional characters transcending into the "real" world.  Just in time for the Animal Man trade paperback, as well.  While I've seen him do this routine before, it's still an interesting one.  Typically excellent artwork from Chris Weston, as well.  A-

INFINITY ABYSS #5 - Reality is falling apart, blah blah blah.  Just about passable mid-nineties superhero material, but nothing to justify dredging the series out of mothballs at this late stage.  C+

IRON MAN #58 - Oh look, it's a cut price Arcade.  It's got the "house of fun mirrors come to life" spot and everything.  Thoroughly unimpressive, and while this is below the standards of much of his run, Mike Grell is nonetheless underachieving on this title compared to his reputation.  C

JLA #69 - A gathering of forces issue, introducing the replacement JLA.  At least this gives Joe Kelly a roster of characters to work with who aren't all tied up in other titles, so he can actually have some control over their direction.  The story does require you to buy into one of those "Batman has planned for literally every contingency" concepts, and it's a bit strained as a result, but I can see some promise in the roster.  B

POWER COMPANY #7 - A Striker Z solo story, as he struggles to work out how to defeat villains when he can't be in two places at once.  Um, why not ask for help from somebody else in the office?  Isn't that sort of the point of having a team?  Anyway, it's a middling-to-good superhero story but nothing groundbreaking.  Much what you've come to expect from Power Company, really.  B

POWERS #22 - Hmm.  The recap inside the front page of this issue appears to cover this issue's plot as well.  Bit of a cock-up there, surely?  Fortunately, I didn't read the recap until after I'd read the issue.  Anyhow, Deena and her new partner track down an anti-superhero campaigner.  Another solid issue.  B+

SPIDER-MAN'S GET KRAVEN #3 - I'm getting the sense that Zimmerman is one of those writers who falls in love with his dialogue and won't cut it even when it's totally superfluous to the plot and is making the issue drag.  Because god knows there's a lot of fat that could be trimmed in this issue - eight pages for Timber's audition scene?! - and the story could really do with going somewhere fast.  C

STORMWATCH: TEAM ACHILLES #2 - A gathering of the forces issue, including an English chap with an accent that appears to have been transcribed from black and white films.  Anyway, the new StormWatch is a sort of anti-superhero GI Joe, and this arc is more about introducing them than about their rather generic opponents.  Thus far, it's still holding my interest, and I had rather low expectations of the book before its launch.  B+

SUICIDE SQUAD #12 - Oh dear.  Final issue, and if you're not well versed in obscure DC continuity, forget it, because you don't have a hope in hell of understanding a word of it.  C-

SUPERPATRIOT #2 - Superpatriot teams up with his overenthusiastic son.  Meanwhile, superNazi Blitzkrieg attempts to explain why he has grafted Hitler's brain onto an ape.  I'm actually quite enjoying this series, which I hadn't really expected.  It knows exactly how ludicrous it is, and it plays along nicely.  B+

TRANSMETROPOLITAN #59 - Well, it's the penultimate issue, and it does all the obvious plot stuff about defeating the villain which probably won't come as a surprise to anyone.  However, I'm glad the main plot is effectively being wound up now - it's turned into one of the weaker and more melodramatic elements of the book, as far as I'm concerned, and that leaves the final issue free to focus on the aspects I like.  B

ULTIMATES #6 - Tony Stark invites Thor round for dinner, while Giant-Man and the Wasp bring you Mark Millar's 2002 rendition of the "Hank Pym goes mad" storyline.  And a pretty damn good rendition it is too, mind you.  We're back to the character focus this time round, which is really when the book is at its best.  A-

The next Article 10 column will be up at Ninth Art on Monday.

Next week, Chuck Austen's second issue of Uncanny X-Men; a new arc in Ultimate X-Men; and Marrow's Weapon X one-shot.  Thundercats #1 is also out next week, but I absolutely draw the line at reviewing that.

That means Soldier X #2 is going to miss shipping, although given that the first issue shipped two weeks late, that isn't much of a surprise.

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