Diary of an up and coming sociopath

Yesterday I put up the first of what will hopefully be many comics reviews I write for Noise to Signal. It’s a review of the Sentry #1, and I’m quite pleased with it. I’ve done my best not to make it sound like the fanboy gushing you get on here too. I won’t link directly because the deep URL is going to be changing soon, but it’s in the comics section anyway.

But I haven’t forgotten my loyal and purely theoretical audience here:

New Avengers #11: Ronin, Part 1 - It’s finally here, the debut of a character I’ve been waiting for since New Aengers #1 first came out with him on the cover. Ronin is a mystery, and as with all well-written mysteries, it’s frustrating the crap out of me, such that I almost wrote an article about it for NTS but decided it was way too geeky for anyone with a less than encyclopaedic knowledge of obscure marvel characters. The action scenes in this issue in particular are beautifully paced. I’m normally all about dialogue, but the sheer choreography of the fights can’t be ignored. It’s definitely good work when you can see the fighting style of a character like this. My guesses for Ronin’s identity run far and wide, but I think I’m going to settle on either Shang Chi, master of Kung Fu, or Stone, a member of the Chaste. I won’t be finding out until like December, though. Gah. A+ as if it needed to be said.

Daredevil #77 - It’s all starting to come to a head, as Bendis and Maleev’s last arc on the title gets in gear. The issue mostly follows the characters at the edges of the plot. Foggy, who has been missing all-too often recently, gets some time, as does the Black Widow, the new White Tiger (still not in costume) and finally, Elektra. It’s all in there, and I can’t wait to see where it’s going, and how the status quo is left. I’m not a huge Brubaker fan at the best of times, but to follow Bendis on Daredevil? I’m concerned it’s going to leave him looking plain amateur. It’s not a particularly heavyissue, but you can see the cogs turning, and I like where they’re going. A.

Ultimate Spider-Man #83 - While I’m getting a bit overwhelmed by the unnecessary introduction of several new Ultimised characters into this issue, the plot in general is definitely back on track. The Peter/MJ plot is going to interesting new places, and the Peter/Black Cat plot hopefully will despite the events of the annual. It’s a decent issue, more readable than it’s been in some time, but not yet back to its best. I’m confident that at this rate, things will be as good as they can be soon. B+ (p.s. Why not read Seb’s much longer review of this comic at Noise To Signal as well? DOITNOW. )

The Sentry #1 - I won’t go on too long, since I already did a few hundred words at NTS and if you’re interested in it, you’ll go there and read, but it’s a great comic and I’m definitely getting the rest of this series. One of the best non-Bendis comics I’ve read in ages. A+