Comics This Week

Daredevil #71: After writing a great story, Bendis once again retreats into the past as a group of people recall the time when Daredevil ruled as "Kingpin." I wished that Bendis would keep going foward, especially since this whole support group thing seemed forced at best. Maleev's art doesn't seem as detailed as other issues, but a great use of colors during the fight scene. B

Guardian #1 (of 4): For his Seven Soldiers series, Grant Morrison reinvents the Guardian as ex-cop Jake Jordan who gets a second chance as the superhero mascot for the newspaper "where the readers are the reporters." His first story? Subway pirates! Great flow and pacing, not to mention Cameron Stewart's art fits it like a glove. What else can you ask for in a story? A

Metal Gear Solid #7: For those of us who who don't play this game or lack the ability to beat it, this series is perfect replacement. Each issue features fresh art from Ashley Wood, though his abstract art can sometimes make the action hard to follow. This issue also has the first appearance of Sniper Wolf. The only reason it doesn't get an A is because of its price tag. B+

Rogue #9: Besides the cool cover, which is an homage to one of my favorite X-Men issues, this issue is a mixed bag. Rogue's still in Japan with Sunfire, tracking down The Silver Samurai and Lady Deathstrike, but this issue doesn't really contribute anything new or really interesting, and Donovan's art is very inconsistant. C

Star Wars Obsession #4 (of 5): Obi-Wan, Anakin, and whole bunch of other Jedi invade Boz Pity in the continued search for Dark Jedi Ventress. Art and story are nice, but nothing really amazing. Don't be fooled by the cover. General Grievous is only in the last two pages... C

X-Men #168: Part three of Peter Milligan's first story as the new X-Men writer is pretty entertaining, considering its unoriginal plot. The X-Men went to an isolated camp to find something had driven all the mutants crazy, and now it's affecting all mutants in L.A. Once the X-Men have stopped the riots, it seems that this "Golgotha" is now starting to affect the X-Men. Larroca's very clean and pretty art actually works better than I thought for such a dark story. But still, from the guy who wrote Batman stories with golems and "Hungry Grass" he can do better. B-