Also this week...

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #47 - Shathra continues to harass Spider-Man by being annoying about him in the press.  This storyline isn't working for me - it's largely a copy of JMS's first arc, with only the attack method changing, and Shathra simply isn't an interesting character.  Plus, the supporting cast seem to be implausibly credulous.  C+

AUTOMATIC KAFKA #5 - Joe Casey and Ashley Wood go drifting off into surreal mode with a pervert Captain America fighting drug dealers in South America.  I know I'm supposed to say that this is cutting edge stuff, but quite honestly, this is a bit obvious, and it's been done before.  B-

CALL OF DUTY: THE WAGON #4 - Do you know, I've read this, and I cannot remember a single thing that happened in it?  Oh yeah, helicopters.  Canisters on top of a burning building, which I suppose is a little more in keeping with the supposed theme of the book.  Nothing gets resolved, which rather undermines the idea that this is some sort of parallel miniseries rather than just another four issues of a grotesquely bloated plot.  Unimpressive.  C

DAREDEVIL #39 - It's a trial issue, and as always, Bendis knows how to make a group of people talking in a single room into a visually interesting comic.  Some clever timelapse storytelling with the shadows, and the rather surprising appearance of Dr Strange as an expert witness on mystical affairs.  Good stuff.  A-

FILTH #6 - The concluding half of the Tex Porneau storyline, only to lead into something even more confusing - is any of this actually happening, or is Greg Feely just completely round the twist?  This being Grant Morrison, I suspect the answer will turn out to be "both and neither", but there you go.  Entertaining insanity, whatever point it may be trying to make.  A-

INCREDIBLE HULK #47 - My god, answers!  Well, partly.  Nonetheless, this is largely an issue devoted to finally explaining some of the running questions that have been in the background throughout Bruce Jones' run.  Some of those answers may be a little too contrived for comfort, but it's still nice to see how thoroughly all of this has been thought out.  B+

LUCIFER #32 - Lucifer fights the duel and, being Lucifer, relies on intelligence, forward planning, and legal loopholes.  A role model for us all, I think you'll agree.  The risk with stories like this is that they can easily come across as if they're rewriting the rules as they go along, but Mike Carey manages to make everything feel natural.  B+

PETER PARKER, SPIDER-MAN #50 - Anniversary time, and Peter and May reflect on many years of continuity in the light of the fact that she now knows his secret identity.  Meanwhile, Spider-Man battles foreign stereotypes in a cute pastiche of nationalist crime gangs.  The sort of story that plays to Paul Jenkins' strengths on this book.  A

Y: THE LAST MAN #5 - Technically this is the end of the opening storyline, although really it's introducing another character to the core travelling group and moving on.  Pretty good, although I'm getting a little concerned at the prominence of the ultra-feminist zealots, which is one of the less convincing elements of this particular world.  (What exactly is the point of being an ultra-feminist in a world entirely populated by women, anyway?)  B+

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

Next week, Ultimate X-Men concludes the "Hellfire and Brimstone" arc, and Wolverine carries on with its somewhat improved new direction.  Also on the schedules, although missing from the shipping list, are Agent X, X-Men Unlimited and X-Statix, so you never know.

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