Sequential Art - January 12th, 2012

I was surprised this week. I had a few comics volumes to read and expected the return of the early Shounen Jump releases, but I wasn't counting on getting two WatXM comics or two paperback volumes early. I also found a new comic starting a new arc and decided to try it out before I got those surprises in my pull list. As a result, I didn't read every single new comic I own this week, and next week will be even more crowded than my usual third week of the month.

Table of Contents

Comics
Batwoman #5
Demon Knights #5
MegaMan #9
Wolverine & the X-Men #4

Manga
One Piece ch.652
Naruto ch.569
Bleach ch.479
GTO: Shonan 14 Days ch.53
Kimi no Iru Machi ch.165
Kuroko no Basket ch.118+119

Volumes
One Piece Volume 60
The Unwritten Volume 5: On to Genesis

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 #5

Awesome issue. J.H. Williams goes for fewer insane layouts than in past chapters, but he's still the best artist of the New 52 - I'm really anxious about Batwoman's artist change in the next few months. Weeping Woman is done for (she was something similar to glycerin? Is this science or magic?), but the DEO has caught up to Kate and that encounter will set the stage for the rest of the series. Issue had great action, major implications, and even a Batman cameo. Great book. STAR



 Demon Knights #5

Great setup chapter, with a cool surprise on the final page. We learn about each character's motivations as to why they're fighting as well as their reactions to the death of the village's volunteer spy, plus some more development out of Mordru and the Questing Queen. I'm on board with everything this comic is doing, and looking forward to next month's offensive in a big way. GLUE






 MegaMan #9

The Archie Comics MegaMan series has been going on for almost a year now, and I've heard above-average things about it. I decided to pick up issue #9 because it starts a new arc: MegaMan 2. The basic designs and personalities of the core MegaMan characters (Rock, Roll, Light, Wily) are consistent and good. I liked pretty much every scene with Quick Man and most of the cameos, but I wasn't in love with this comic. The action is okay at best and the art seems too... simplistic. I think I've been spoiled by New 52 art. I'll pick up trades if I decide I want more of this. BENCH


 Wolverine & the X-Men #4

When exactly is this comic supposed to come out? Whatever, I'll buy it if I see it. I really enjoy the somewhat lighthearted tone that WatXM has been taking, but this week's darker turns were well-executed enough that it raised the stakes without compromising the series' voice. We get some ties to Uncanny X-Force in this book, but not in a way that's too confusing, and two of the most terrifying additions to the classroom that they possibly could have made. Lokjaw's prognostications and flash-forwards were also highlights. Holy shit, Jason Aaron. MVP


 One Piece ch.652

Some decent plot developments, and surprising action out of Pekoms of all characters (he seems like a perfect opponent for Chopper in the next arc), but overall a setup chapter at best. The crew reacts to Luffy's challenge, we learn some small details about Big Maam, the Sun Pirates, and King Neptune's treasure that could be important down the line, and the chapter ends with a welcome look at Smoker and Tashigi. Not stellar, but I'm satisfied. GLUE



 Naruto ch.569

Too much flashback. Kurama reflects on Naruto's history and we get nearly 8 pages of flashbacks that I don't think we wanted or needed. The new development is good and I hope it works out in Naruto's favor, but this issue needed more dialog OR more action OR more anything besides weakly-presented flashbacks. Hoping for better next week. FUNK






 Bleach ch.479

Some bullshit. Ichigo strolls into the Gotei 13 offices, who have surprisingly welcomed back a few of the Vaizard into their ranks, and shows off surprising maturity to the captain-general and a forgiveness towards Ukitake. Xcution seems to be out of the picture, which is a good thing, but I reckon we'll have a lot of post-timeskip catchup the next few chapters. Not really looking forward to it. FUNK




GTO: Shonan 14 Days ch.53

Nice reconciliation between Kanzaki and Fujisaki, uniting Onizuka's two greatest unrequited loves in one chapter. Some weird gratuitous cheesecake in this chapter (not that unusual for GTO), but this chapter was all about was my favorite GTO character and another good personality playing off each other. Not bad. GLUE

Kimi no Iru Machi ch.165

Well, I guess I should have expected this. Yuzuki, Haruto, and their sheltered neighbor girl all have a confusing dinner that is essentially 12 or 13 pages of comic misunderstanding and condom jokes. I won't hate, because I like neighbor girl, but I'd rather have drama instead of condoms. And I suppose the condom discussion eliminates the possibility of the shotgun wedding ending. GLUE

Kuroko no Basket ch.118+119

I think these scanners are translating entire volumes instead of weekly chapters, so the release schedule is a little irregular. No complaints here, though, because we get two chapters featuring two conflicts key to this game - Kuroko's special skills vs. Aomine's familliarity with Kuroko and a shooting guard duel between Hyuuga and the Touou crybaby. We also got some pretty good flashbacks to offseason training. Next chapter should be more 3-point shots and hopefully some frontcourt action. Excellent overall, but I hope they don't speed up the pace too much. STAR

 One Piece Volume 60 (paperback)

This is an important volume for exposition, flashbacks, and Luffy's character development, but it's not one of my favorites. We get a lot of Luffy and Ace's tragic childhood and meet their old comrade Sabo, and when that sad story ends Luffy decides to stop mourning Ace and start kicking ass. The final chapter of this volume kicks off the timeskip that I personally believe is the best break of its kind in manga history. Volume 60 is pretty good, but 61 is positively stellar. There's a reason I use v61 as my generic One Piece pic every week. GLUE


 The Unwritten Volume 5: On to Genesis (paperback)

Well, now Tom Taylor has an understanding of where his power comes from, but how and why does he have these powers? On to Genesis goes into the past of Wilson Taylor, initiates a new ploy from Pullman and the Cabal, and sees Tom meet up with two of his predecessors with similar fiction powers: Frankenstein's Monster and a silver-age comic book hero. There are still a lot of mysteries that need solving in this series, but every volume is so good that I will read every word. STAR

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I'm right in the final zone of Mass Effect - I'll beat it tonight or tomorrow. Then this weekend I'll be busy house hunting (!?) and will decide on a new gaming project.