My Week in Comics: May 20, 2011

It's Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday with the most verbose comic book reviews around! What did I get myself into this week? Read on to find out!


Uncanny X-Force #10 has Angel/Archangel facing a moral dillemma when a reporter discovers the existence of X-Force. With the evil Archangel slowly but surely taking control of Warren's mind and body, it's only a matter of time until blood flows freely in the pursuit of keeping X-Force's secret hidden!

Rick Remender paints an interesting picture on the lengths the X-Force will go through to protect their secret, but it reads more like a stepping stone to their next mission than a full story. At the very least, we feel for Warren's struggle with his inner Horseman, and when he gets out of control, his showdown with Wolverine is raw and personal. Billy Tan and Rich Elson's art serves the story well enough, but in the end you're just waiting for the next issue. Sad, since I wanted this (like any other comic) to be good enough to stand on its own. This is a 3 out of 5.


Laura's reminded of all the very bad things she's done in the past, and in X-23 #10, she's gone the way of the emo. Can Gambit bring her out of that rut? How about Wolverine...and vampire Jubilee?

Writer Marjorie Liu dials it back for some sweet and personal character moments. She sheds light on her relationship with Wolverine, and even Wolverine relationship with both X-23 and Wolverine, bringing up another interesting dynamic I'd love to see play out. It's nice to see Liu take a character like X-23 and really own her, molding her into a character with its own unique voice. A little action wouldn't have hurt, but that's just me. Sana Takeda does her best on art duties here, and her Jubilee is adorable, even with the fangs! Good for X-23 fans, not so much for comic book readers looking for more bang for their buck. This is a 3 out of 5.


And so we come to Rocketeer Adventures #1, an anthology of stand-alone stories from industry heavyweights like Mike Allred, Kurt Busiek and John Cassaday. For the young ones out there, the Rocketeer is a pulp-inspired hero created by Dave Stevens. The Rocketeer is Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers an experimental jetpack, which he used to go on daring adventures. He was popular enough to get a feature film out in 1991, and when I was a kid I enjoyed it very much. Now he's flying back into the spotlight. How will he fare in this industry today?

From the looks of it, he'll be faring very well.

The stories inside stay faithful to the Rocketeer's pulp roots, which makes it really fun to read. John Cassaday's intro adventure brings readers up to speed with what the Rocketeer can do, and his art just brings you back to the 1940's. Cassaday also draws a perfect Betty (Cliff's girlfriend, modeled after pinup model Betty Page), so much so I'm falling in love with the story because of her alone! Mike and Laura Allred's funky take on the Rocketeer is also fun, albeit a little psychedelic. Kurt Busiek is another favorite, presenting a sweet love story between Cliff and Betty set in the backdrop of the tail end of World War 2.

All the stories are neat little takes on the Rocketeer, and I enjoyed each and every one. At almost $4/P200, Rocketeer Adventures #1 is a steal. With three great stories coupled with great art, the Rocketeer returns to the comic book page with jetpack blazing. This is a 5 out of 5. Pick this up now!


I for one welcome the Rocketeer back into comics! I hope you will too! What did you think of the comics that came out this week? Let's talk about it via the comment box below! Thanks for reading!

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