The Troyjan War

Incredible Hulk issues 413-416.

In this four-parter by PAD the Hulk goes head to head against the whole Troyjan empire! The Troyjans are an ape like alien race that you don't see much of these days. The Troyjan prince Trauma comes to earth to claim Atalanta (one of Bruce's mates) for his bride. This starts a rip roaring 4 issue trek through space with some notable cameos along the way, the Silver Surfer is a particularly welcome addition.

Besides the generally great storyline the main interest comes in the recurrence of Dr Banners old bugbear, rage. At this point in the series Bruce Banner is in control but with the Hulk's body, this story starts to show the cracks in this particular arrangement. The story begins with Bruce on the good Dr Samson's couch receiving a dose of head shrinking. Samson points out that even though the Hulk is for all intents and purposes gone, Bruce still resorts to violence to solve all his problems. Once Atalanta is spirited off by Trauma the good Dr Banner becomes very, very, mad. His rage eventually leads him to kill Trauma, this could have been handled rather flippantly, I mean Trauma is the bad guy after all. However it's handled rather better than that, upon Trauma's death his father, Armageddon, is overcome with grief and simply lets our heroes go. Bruce also sees exactly where his rage led him and tries to offer condolences to Armageddon, but to no avail, in a somber and very fitting final scene.

I think it's definitely fair to say that there's a fair amount of Planet Hulk in this series, PAD came up with all the good ideas first.

Green Lantern Corps #36

So the Sciencells beneath OA have just been emptied of the greatest scum in the universe. I had assumed this issue would be big, silly, and fun, the front of the issue even has the word 'Riot' in large red letters. I wouldn't have minded big, silly, and fun, but actually this issue provides much, much more. I think in fact that this could be my favourite issue to date, there are three separate, very different plot lines that add up to an absolutely cracking issue. There's a wonderful sequence with Sinestro, who just seems to get better and better as a villain. There's the riot itself, which is a blitzkrieg on the senses, and there's a classic David and Goliath encounter between Mongol and Sodam Yat.

Phwoar.

You could certainly be forgiven for thinking that this title would be Green Lantern's poor relative but I just can't stop reading it and long may it continue.

Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #5

I'm really enjoying this series. Damon Lindelof is one of the guys who writes Lost, which I must say I 'lost' (pun intended) interest in about halfway through the second season. This Ultimate series is written much like an episode of Lost with flashbacks and non-sequential story telling the order of the day, and I must say that it really works.

The premise you can probably guess from the title. Nick Fury sends Wolverine in all half-cocked to finish the job that a nuke to the face couldn't and kill the Hulk. The first thing to be said is that the story fits in rather snugly between Banner being executed aboard the aircraft carrier and his dramatic (and bloody brilliant) return in Ultimates 2.

I'm very much enjoying the way the Hulk/Banner character is being written, it's not anything ground-breaking. Hulk/Banner seems to have everything under control resulting in a Hulk with Banners intellect, although which one of them is in the driving seat is open for debate. That is of course until one of those pesky rages. As I said it's not ground-breaking but it's how I like the Hulk to be written.

The series deserves particular plaudits for the outrageous punishment handed out to poor old Wolverine and I can't wait for the final issue.

Green Lantern #40

Every Green Lantern comic for the last few months has had 'Prelude to Blackest Night' plastered across the top. You may therefore think that these issues are an irrelevant lead in to the main event, but how wrong you'd be. Green Lantern is fantastically written, an incredibly consistent comic from issue to issue. This one is definitely no exception, the entire corps head out to the Vega system to deal with Agent Orange the wonderfully malevolent, and gollum-esque, devourer of power rings that you see pictured here. It's all incredibly high octane stuff from start to finish.

Geoff Johns manages to pull off slightly outrageous Sci-Fi without at any point seeming cheesy. It's a comic that always has you begging for more at the end of each issue and long may it continue.

Dark Avengers #4

This is a rather average issue.

The Dark Avengers bring their 4 issue fight with Morgana Le Fey to a rather dull conclusion, really not much of anything happens in this issue. If you're not familiar with the premise of Dark Avengers, Norman Osborn is made the new director of Shield in the aftermath of the Secret Invasion. His first action is to disband the current Avengers and put together a new team made up of some of the Marvel Universe's shadier characters, Venom, Bullseye, Osborn, et al. With Dark Avengers I therefore feel the writers have a bit a fresh slate to create something new and interesting with these characters. Unfortunately so far most of the emphasis has been placed on the characters that most of us already know plenty about and I really want to read more about the others that have thus far been very much in the background. I'm definitely going to continue reading this series but hopefully the next story arc will engage me slightly more than this one has.

On a definite plus note the Sentry's tortured storyline has thus far been great and looks to be a real highlight of the series.

N-Zone

It required the recommendation a friend whose opinion I trusted before I began delving into Ultimate Fantastic Four. This is because, let's be honest, the Fantastic Four are a bit rubs, and even though, yes, I love Warren Ellis and Mark Miller I still couldn't quite bring myself to read it. As it turns out I'm pleased to have been proven incorrect in my assumptions! The fantastic Four themselves still have some of the worst super powers ever, there's no way round that, but Millar and Ellis make it work and the stories are a bloody brilliant read.

Issues 13-18, written by Ellis, are to date my favourite story arc. Reed plans a trip back to the titular N-Zone, the alternate dimension that gave them rubbish super powers in the first place. The N-Zone is a brilliantly created piece of Science Fiction, an unsettling dying universe populated by the desperate remnants of intelligent life. The Four do a spot of sight seeing before happening upon a space station huddled close to a dying star for warmth. It is here that our heros meet the wonderfully creepy Nihil, an ancient creature not quite ready to join his universe in its death throws. Needless to say, it all kicks off.

A genuinely unexpected story arc and all the more brilliant for it. Cracking Stuff.

FCBD

It's free comic book day tomorrow and Blackest Night #0 has definitely caught my eye. I'm a bit of a Green Lantern fan, it's space opera at its finest, and I'm really looking forward to the Blackest Night series. This issue promises to be a direct run in to Blackest Night #1, which in itself is rather exciting and probably an excellent marketing ploy by DC. It also, quite brilliantly, includes a guide to the entire spectrum of corps that you should expect to find in Blackest Night. There was a simpler time when lanterns of the green variety where the only ones you needed to be aware of, but there are now corps of pretty much every colour you can think of, each with their own nuances, allegiances, and aims. So if you're planning to read Blackest Night this summer but don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Green Lantern mythos this looks to be an excellent introduction.

My excitement is palpable..... but unfortunately I'm needed at the fish factory tomorow and at the moment still don't see anyway of actually being able to make it to the comic book store. If I just had a power ring of my own I could leave a suitable copy of myself at my desk like in Emerald Dawn II....