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The Week in Comics #1

After more than a month of typical hemming and hawing, I've decided to keep buying comics in single issues and trades for 2011. Each week I'll post some quick thoughts about what single issues I bought; trades will be covered in separate posts.

Adventure Comics #522 - This is the second of two issues bridging the series from a look past at the team's early days and a new story arc focusing on the Legion Academy. Still, the book gives us a look at Mon-El's first outing as the new Green Lantern while folding in some plot points of the titular Legion title, notably the first inklings of a new Legion of Super-Villains team. Paul Levitz is really settling back into writing the team and the art by Geraldo Borges is solid. I do find it ironic that in the first week of comics from the new holding-the-line-at-$2.99-with-only-20-pages-of-story-and-no-backups DC...we get a 5 page preview of the upcoming comic tie-in to the big DC video game. Anyway, I'll be reading this book for a while.

Action Comics #896 - The Secret Six enters the book as protection Lex Luthor hired and they subsequently get entangled in Luthor's confrontation with Vandal Savage. Meanwhile, we discover the Lois robot may be more important to the plot than we thought. This is fun stuff that will continue into Secret Six, a book I will pick up.

Flash #8 - If I had to describe this comic in a word, that word would be "creepy." The newly-resurrected and newly-escaped-from-prison Reverse-Flash narrates the story of his life and then changes that story with time travel again and again. Geoff Johns really delves into the villain's psyche and sets him up as a danger that could have a big role in the upcoming "Flashpoint" (storyline? series?) that will happen later this year. As for the art, either I'm starting to get used to Scott Kolins's new style or his tweaks that style to bring the look more in line with Francis Manapul. Looking forward to where this book goes in the coming months...

Superboy #2 - I thought the first issue was a lot of fun and while this issue isn't quite as strong, there's still plenty to like. Parasite frogs, for instance. Some cheesecake art focused on Poison Ivy and hints at a broader story for Smallville kept my interest. I'll stick with this book for a little while.

Superman/Batman #79 - I'm a fan of Chris Roberson's prose work, so when I saw he would be using the characters from DC One Million in this title, I knew I had to check it out. The book focuses more on the villain Epoch than any of the heroes but I'm still onboard for the second half of the story next issue.

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