Table of Contents
Comics
Batwoman #4
Demon Knights #4
Resurrection Man #4
Avengers: X-Sanction #1
Manga
One Piece ch.650
Naruto ch.567
Bleach ch.477
Beelzebub ch.136
Hajime no Ippo ch.958
Kimi no Iru Machi ch.163
History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi ch.456
Kuroko no Basket ch.116
Liar Game ch.141
Toriko ch.161-168
Volumes
Nothing this week!
Rating System
MVP = Most Valuable Pages. Best issue or chapter of my week.
STAR = Good comic being good, makes me want to keep reading it.
GLUE = Not outstanding, but not bad. Could be worth reading.
FUNK = Good series has an off week. Haven't lost faith yet.
BENCH = Subpar comic. Doubting its value. Needs to redeem itself.
CUT = Bad comic. Not worth continuing to subscribe.
Batwoman #4Oh damn. I still can't get over how good J. H. Williams' artwork is. This issue has Flamebird attemping an extremely ill-advised drug bust, our Bat-hunting organization closing in on Batwoman thanks to Flamebird's poor judgment, and Kate Kane having a much better day than in #3 - she tracks down some leads on La Llorona after getting laid. Really, the cross-montage of Flamebird getting her ass kicked by zombie pirate guy and Kate having grayscale sex with detective Sawyer is so stunning that I'm speechless. This is the best issue of Batwoman yet. MVP
Demon Knights #4Mostly an exposition issue, but it makes the new (old?) version of Shining Knight a good 200% cooler and tells us some juicy info about Merlin's role in this drama. We still have a lot to learn about our heroes and their enemies (the Questing Queen had the same vision as Shining Knight?), but Demon Knights has a lot of cool things in place, not the least of which is its entertaining cast. I'm also dumbstruck at the final-page twist to the point of frustration. Really cool series. STAR
Resurrection Man #4This is not a bad series, and indeed this was a solid issue. We get another appearance of an Angel after Mitch's soul, we get a slightly better idea of what the Body Doubles and Transhuman are (poor guy...), and we might even have a superhero road adventure on our hands (awesome!). But let's be real, I'm going to drop this comic. I don't hate where Resurrection Man is going, but I'm not attached enough to its characters and it seems disconnected to the rest of the DC Universe. BENCH
Avengers: X-Sanction #1You know, sometimes early hype and a cool cover are enough to get me to buy something, or at least it's enough when that something is only $3 or $4. The cover to this comic had Cable beating up Captain America, and the teaser was that Cable is to be mysteriously revived and star in this miniseries as a prelude to 2012's big Marvel event: The Avengers vs. The X-Men. Sure, why not? We see Cable take on two Avengers in this issue, and also see a few of his upcoming opponents. Not bad, and downright awesome at times. I might pick up #2, haven't decided yet. GLUE
One Piece ch.650Total exposition chapter. Lots of juicy details, though: Blackbeard's one of the Yonkou, Sakazuki's the new Fleet Admiral, and Kuzan's on the run after losing the admiralship to Sakazuki. Even crazier - Big Maam is probably going to join the party soon, and Luffy and Chopper ate up her annual candy ransom! I can't believe I just wrote that without irony. Chapter had laughs and a lot of info, but not a whole lot happened. GLUE
Naruto ch.567Kind of unremarkable battle chapter for Naruto. Sure, it was a serious confrontation between EIGHT Jinchuuriki, plus Gai and Kakashi, but it was also a little confusing and cluttered, and lacked the drama of the ensemble fight against Madara a few weeks ago. This is nitpicking, really, because we did get some tailed beast action and an idea for how much control Tobi has over them. Shit will get serious in the next few weeks. GLUE
Bleach ch.477More dramatic reactions to Ichigo's final blow, including *two* people stepping in front of a surprise counterattack. Our fearless writer spends a LOT of panel space closing in on Ichigo and Ginjou's faces and illustrating Ginjou's dying(?) words “if you were the first, would you be like me?” You can expect at least a full chapter of flashbacks in the coming weeks. Me? I still just want this arc to end. FUNK
Beelzebub ch.136
Should I be let down that the whole "now you must solve puzzles!" plot device was a sham? Maybe, but I'm not because now we'll get to see pretty much every single one of Oga's former enemies take place in a demon battle. Oga, Toujou, and Kunieda seem like the top-tier contenders, and that's just fine; now we have some supporting cast action. GLUE
Hajime no Ippo ch.958
Pretty much the same as the last two chapters. Neither fighter has landed a single hit, and are darting around the ring like they're Sonic & Knuckles. Something ought to happen in the second round and soon, or readers will start to get bored. Ippo's and Takamura's reactions to the fight were a highlight. FUNK
Kimi no Iru Machi ch.163
Great chapter. We get some insight into Yuzuki's father's character, a number of flashbacks, an apology, and a positive feeling for the future. For once, I actually sort of feel sorry for Yuzuki, which is a surprise, since I always hate the main heroine in this kind of manga. This chapter might serve as the conclusion for this conflict, so I figure some other complication unrelated to Yuzuki's parents will surface next. STAR
History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi ch.456
Major plot implications, but otherwise a so-so chapter. Kenichi does some schoolwork, talks to Princess Hotpants, and then runs off to help save a burning palace full of citizens. We see a glimpse of a fully-evil Miu and the return of fan-favorite mostly-villain Hongou. But not much to see here, really. FUNK
Kuroko no Basket ch.116
Even better than last week's promising start. This Touou rematch is shaping up to be one of the absolute best games in the series if it continues like this. Not only are we actually seeing individual possessions chained together, but the action and art are strong and this match has serious series-wide implications. Recap - Seirin: "check out our SPECIAL MOVES and SHENANIGANS!" Touou: "we counter with HEIGHT ADVANTAGE and BEING REALLY GOOD AT BASKETBALL." Seirin: "#%&*." STAR
Liar Game ch.141
This was a rules explanation chapter; pretty much par for the course with Liar Game. They're playing a strange variation of poker this time, but I'm sure that there'll be the usual silly loopholes and come-from-behind victories from Akiyama. Slow chapter, but I'll keep up with this one on the chance that it'll have a zany twist ending (chances are good). FUNK
Toriko ch.161-168
I didn't read this in volume form, but I caught up on eight chapters that had slipped through the cracks. I never intentionally dropped Toriko; my main manga site skipped on updates for several weeks. Anyhow, Toriko is as weird as ever, but this arc (which is nearing its conclusion, I think) was more cerebral than Toriko usually is, centering on four of the main characters gambling their brains (yup) against a master chef/warrior/brain-collector who has never lost a game (yuuup).
Toriko is a manga that thrives on its foodie weirdness, strong action scenes, likeable, goofy main characters, and straight-up evil, creepy villains. These eight chapters were a bit lacking in action compared to what I'm used to from Toriko, but introduced a silly new food-related conspiracy to Toriko's bizarre world (and some new ingredients too, of course). We haven't gotten a final confrontation out of this new villain yet, but I look forward to it. If you have a high shounen tolerance, Toriko is some good shit. GLUE
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Next week is week three, my favorite! While I'm waiting for my menu of comics, I'll be playing the shite out of Ico, which I just barely started last night. It's no Shadow of the Colossus, but it's definitely interesting so far.
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