- WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #42 – So, this is it. As Marvel fools everyone each week with their own rendition of the New 52 — by rebooting all of their series one or three at a time, rather than as a whole — creative teams and books are slowly earning the NOW! reboot or disappearing entirely. The good news: Wolverine & The X-Men attained enough sales and interest to keep going. The bad: it’s the end of the road for Jason Aaron-slash-Wolvie diehards who’ve been following “Logan’s Run” from the accomplished scribe the entire time. I’d argue that no other writer has taken Wolverine to the brink quite like this. From the regenerized danger of a modern Weapon X program to HELL to his current status as Professor Logan (a near overhaul of a character that saw no one complain, unlike all of that new killable/bad guy stuff), seeing this series go just stinks.
- (Cont…) Unfortunately, the comic feels more like a tribute to the likes of Quentin “Not Quagmire” Quire and his merry band of nutcases at the school rather than an ode to the Canadian runt. It’s graduation indeed, so expect the same great, biting humor installed in the prevous fourty-one. Plus, plenty of DOOP! This swansong also showcases art from eight of the talents who contributed throughout this healthy 3-year+ run, a nice touch considering how consistently awesome the book has looked since day one. For some, this is just a milestone for the Jean Grey School with more All-New adventures coming up. But, for others, it’s a day we wish would never come. 3.5/5.
- BATMAN/SUPERMAN #8 – Just when you thought it was dropped…they pulled me back in. The third arc of Greg Pak‘s surprisingly most inconsistent run on Batman/Superman continues the goods from the first arc — bringing back superstar artist Jae Lee back into the fold — in addition to a story many have wanted to see: a team-up of the original World’s Finest with the current: Huntress and Power Girl. First Contact allows the new Dynamic Duo to join their far-far-out Earth 2 relatives for some heavy combat and a most intriguing cross-Earth examination (A Dark Knight Daughtah from Anotha Motha?). If you thought things were strange with Bruce and Clark’s E1 doppelgangers running around, just wait ’til they mingle with what is essentially their female counterparts. If nothing else, witness the rebirth of my frontrunner for Writer of the Year (Turok, Eternal Warrior, Action Comics) do the damn thing once again with DC’s Mightiest Heroes, complete with plenty of magical sights to drool over. 4/5.