Also this week...

DARKNESS #3 - Issue #3?  It's been going longer than that, surely?  Actually, I reviewed issue #3 back on 24 November 2002, which means it's taken Top Cow roughly five months to produce the following two issues.  Is this supposed to be a bimonthly title?  Because it's not even achieving that.  What the hell was happening in this book again?  Where did I put the first two issues?  I can't find them.  Oh well, maybe there'll be a recap in the inside front cover.  Oops, no, the inside front cover is a misprint containing the credits for Witchblade #63.  For christ's sake.  Anyway... this book was something to do with a hitman who had the Darkness powers returning to his "family."  And this would be quite a decent build-up, if it was on a monthly schedule, but at this pace, it's dragging.  Something is very odd with the art, which lurches back and forward between conventional inking and shot-from-pencils digital painting with no discernible rationale.  B

H-E-R-O #3 - Okay, I get the idea.  The superhero power fantasies always backfire because their lack of subtlety renders them counterproductive.  Fine, whatever.  I know this book has been getting lots of good reviews, but really, I don't see it.  C

POWERS #30 - The end of the Unity storyline, with extra pages!  Story pages, at that!  This is basically the same riff on superheroes as invincible and unaccountable gods which you've probably seen before, and I'm not entirely sure that the characters in this book really work in stories on this scale.  That said, it's still a good read, and it does result in a major status quo change for the series which promises plenty of new material.  B+

SILENCERS #1 - Another crossover between the superhero and crime genres.  This time the angle is that it's a supervillain book - the Silencers are the enforcers of the local mob.  Not a bad idea, but it doesn't quite work.  There's some rather goofy powers in here (a superpowered zoot suit?) which clash with the crime elements - it doesn't seem quite sure how tongue in cheek it wants to be.  The art seems similarly confused about the visual style of the book, not to mention that it completely fails to sell lead character Cardinal as being 70 years old, despite that being a key plot point.  He looks about 30.  Nice idea, though, and it has its moments.  B-

SLEEPER #4 - I was wondering how Ed Brubaker was going to find a different angle on the old idea of a hidden council running the world in secret.  And the ending of this issue certainly answers that one.  Now I get to wonder how on earth you follow through with the logical consequences of it.  I wasn't quite sure about the first issue of this series, but Brubaker and Phillips have got me persuaded now.  A-

THUNDERBOLTS #78 - Cancelled with issue #81, I see.  And to think, everyone said that relaunch gimmick was such a surefire winner, too.  It would have been interesting to see how this book would have done if it had been launched as a new series; it would certainly have faced an uphill struggle, with no established characters and no big name creators attached.  The sales on the Tsunami books should be a rough indicator.  Anyway, this month Daniel Axum embraces his new life as an underground fighter, despite his continuing reservations as to whether any of this is legal.  It's a good series, which deserved better all round.  B+

WILDCATS V3.0 #9 - Grifter inducts Halo accountant Edwin Dolby into the weird world of superheroes.  Admittedly, whether WildCATS still counts as a superhero book rather than a bizarre, increasingly absurdist sci-fi conspiracy story is open to question.  Nonetheless, it's all the better for that, and you've got to love a training montage which includes Grifter explaining the vital importance of holding your gun in a cool way.  Pretty good.  A-

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

I remind you once again that you can vote in the UK National Comics Awards at their website.  The X-Axis and Ninth Art are both eligible for the website awards.

Next week, a ton of stuff.  The big news is that the ongoing Mystique series debuts.  Agent X #10 is another fill-in, but with Evan Dorkin writing, it could be good.  Uncanny X-Men #422 is the second half of "Rules of Engagement", Weapon X #8 continues the "Underground" storyline, Wolverine: X-Isle reaches issue #4, X-Men Unlimited #45...

[double-takes] 

Nope, that's what it says.  Third issue of X-Men Unlimited in three weeks.  X-Statix #10 is out as well, and X-Treme X-Men #24 kicks off God Loves Man Kills II.

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