Sequential Art - January 19th, 2012

Good turnout this week both in numbers and in quality. I'm still blown away by this week's MVP.

Table of Contents

Comics
Batman #5
Wonder Woman #5
Supergirl #5

Manga
One Piece ch.652
Naruto ch.569
Beelzebub ch.139+140
Toriko ch.170+171
Kimi no Iru Machi ch.166
Hajime no Ippo ch.962
History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi ch.460

Volumes
No volumes 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.

 Batman #5

The gist of Batman #5 is that The Court of Owls owns Gotham, and Batman needs to realize it. Trapped in a labyrinth for at least a week, Bruce is taunted by Talon and the Court, descending further into madness with each page. The (awesome) art and layouts reflect this, with some pages presented sideways or upside-down and actions taking place in a nonlinear manner. The big hook takes place a few pages before the end, and teases the upcoming Gotham event Night of the Owls. This is one of the best single issues of any comic I've ever read. MVP


 Wonder Woman #5

This was a setup chapter, but it was real damn cool anyhow. Diana hangs out in London with Zola and Hermes (the latter of whom is somehow still recovering from his injury) - she dresses well, fitting her stylish choice of city. The group has an encounter with Lennox, another child of Zeus who probably would have been a hero akin to Perseus if he was born in ancient Greece instead of 1920s England. The real deal, though, is a set of introductions that will set the tone for the next arc: Zeus's siblings fighting over his domain. GLUE


 Supergirl #5

Really enjoyed this chapter. We get Supergirl *finally* acknowledging the destruction of Krypton, followed by a mighty temper tantrum and an encounter with one of Kara's future opponents. Said encounter has some great GIRL SMASH combat that has been a series highlight. This comic is a pretty solid retelling of Supergirl's origin so far, providing its own set of villains for Kara Zor-El and even changing the makeup of her powers. After five issues, I still buy what Michael Green and Mike Johnson are selling. STAR



 One Piece ch.653

Okay "setting off" chapter, with lots of farewell dialog and optimism. Not a lot to say here, but again this is necessary One Piece filler that should be 100% expected. I'm wondering if next week we're going to get more New World exposition (what various VIPs are up to, etc.) or have the Mugiwaras sail right into a new conflict. If I had to guess I'd say the former, but you never know. GLUE






 Naruto ch.570

Good chapter overall. Naruto makes friends with Son Goku and his overwhelming positive nature has finally gotten to Kurama, and Naruto manages to sever fake Madara's sorta-hold on Son Goku. Next few chapters will be GIANT TAILED BEAST BATTLE with Naruto and Bee vs. the rest, which should be pretty awesome. I'm so glad that Naruto got good again. STAR






Beelzebub ch.139+140

Well, Hilda lost her memory, so the next several chapters are going to be amnesia hijinks. Both of these chapters succeed both in character development and in humor, and I particularly liked the Red Tails' girly relationship betting. The hook at the end of 140 was Hilda's new (old?) feelings coming into play, which could have some interesting consequences to say the least. GLUE

Toriko ch.170+171

We get a lot of info about the ingredients black market in these chapters, with the evil brain chef guy becoming inspired by Komatsu's naive goodness. The big deal with ch.171 is what we see at the end - a first glimpse of the series Big Bad, the leader of the evil army and Toriko's master's rival. GLUE

Kimi no Iru Machi ch.166

I'm a little disappointed in Kimi. This chapter has a good heart behind it, but it's filled with so much cheesecake that it's practically softcore porn. They bring back a fan-favorite character (Haruto's half-Russian childhood friend) and basically have her tell Haruto to call his buddy he's feuding with while she does a goddamn striptease. The end, where Haruto finally makes that call, is a nice moment, but does not justify ALL OF THIS UNNECESSARY T & A. Better when it comes sparingly or at least as more of a surprise. FUNK

Hajime no Ippo ch.962

More Itagaki getting pounded, but this time the action is doing a better job of elucidating his weaknesses and Saeki's major advantages - without going into specifics, it has a lot to do with Itagaki's impatience and lack of experience. Pretty good action-packed chapter, and the commentary was better than usual as well. GLUE

History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi ch.460

Great combat this chapter. Kenichi is still hanging in there against Miu/Bulu, and as one of his trump card techniques he brings out the ol' Kohou-Haihou. Not a ton happened overall, but the strike team is coming in, Miu's getting serious, and Kenichi is closer to death than ever. Jenazad is still a creepy motherfucker even though he's a bishounen now, and I really hope we have some Jenazad vs. Hongou in our future. GLUE

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Good times. I already have a few more trade paperbacks pegged, and I look forward to starting them as soon as the first one arrives in the mail. On the gaming front, it's all Mass Effect 2, all the time. Rolled a Paragon Vanguard who resembles Gomez Addams more than a little bit. Having a fabulous time so far.