Avengers: The Initiative #5 ~ This second of two World War Hulk tie-ins (amusingly titled 'Green Zone') is a really fun, interesting read. It has no tremendous relevance to WWH, though it's hardly a pointless crossover, and I wouldn't feel ripped off if I'd bought it just because of the WWH banner - but there's much more to it. The Shadow initiative makes its debut in action, with mystery aplenty surrounding Mutant Zero (though I'm sure some smartass on a forum somewhere has figured her identity out already), and some intriguing developments for Trauma, the formerly one-note 'emo boy' who's quickly developed into a complex and not unsympathetic character. Cloud 9 starts on what could be a compelling (if angsty) path, and Gyrich... well, he's a rat bastard, but he's a damned funny one, and he even gets humanised some along the way. Track is laid for next month's issue too - all in all, #5 is a great issue from one of my favourite titles.
Hack/Slash #4 ~ A really funny, action-packed conclusion to this ongoing's opening story. Vlad almost steals the show with some great gruff comedy, but Cassie manages to claw her way to equal billing with some ripping one-liners of her own, and the two guest characters for this arc are both quite entertaining, and surprisingly endearing. There's a classic set-up in a giant tentacular beastie materialising about an ancient ziggurat - interesting slant to have an aged Elvis on top of it, too, but that's part of the fun (as is what happens to him, yeck). All in all, as Cassie and Vlad (who is indeed, as last issue suggested, now no longer a virgin - the aghast stares this gets from the villains when they try their virgin-hypnotising trick on him, and nothing happens, are hilarious, and really well drawn) ride off towards their next adventure, I have no hesitation in continuing to follow them.
52 Aftermath: The Four Hoursemen #1 ~ I'd initially thought this would just be a regular Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman story, using the Horsemen (lately of 52, the murderers of Black Adam's family) as stock villains, but reading a Newsarama interview with writer Keith Giffen changed my mind, and I gave it a shot. And I'm glad I did, because while DC's Holy Trinity of heroes are certainly at the forefront, this is a bone fide continuation of the Horsemen/Oolong Island story thread from 52, which was full of potential. Veronica Cale - who you'll remember as the alternately apocalyptically horny and suicidally depressed blonde bombshell who helped bring the Four Horsemen into being - has a prominent role, following up on the intriguing finale to her involvement in 52 in a fascinating way that could go in all sorts of directions. The pacing is somewhat orthodox, but all in all the stage is set for the Horsemen to rise from the ashes big time, so I'm glad I took a chance on this miniseries.
Bomb Queen IV: Suicide Bomber #1 ~ This is Bomb Queen at its best - savagely funny, maniacally aggressive towards all things hypocritical, and unrepentantly offensive (she's a villain, after all). After the death of her feline companion Ashe, BQ declares war on the world, specifically all the superheroes who continually give her and her beloved evil city grief, and to judge by this issue, she's got a strong war machine at the ready, though something else is behind the scenes (and I won't spoil it by theorising). There are references aplenty to past Bomb Queen miniseries and everything happening now grows quite organically out of them, but the story stands well on its own, with the necessary exposition provided as appropriate. Jimmy Robinson is at his best with both writing and art, and BQ and her malevolent city leap off the page in an explosion of sex and violence.
Wonder Woman #12 ~ And so concludes Amazons Attack, thank the gods - it's been a sad excuse for a big event, and DC should be ashamed of themselved for allowing one of their Holy Trinity, and moreover the one that's already been compromised by the unimaginative setup provided by Heinberg in her relaunch issues, be further undermined. This issue isn't horrendous, but it's entirely forgettable - I mean, the villain of the piece of Everyman, fer cryin' out loud (yes, the little twerp from the Lex Luthor thread of 52 - hardly a very interesting antagonist). Gail Simone can't get on this book fast enough - but I worry that the concept of Diana having a secret identity as a Department of Metahuman Affairs agent is itself just too boring to provide fertile ground for many stories - I've yet to see it do anything worthwhile, aside from keep Wonder Woman from achieving her goals in the best way possible. It's not even as if it provides any kind of 'grounding' for her to have this double life - her secret identity is a superspy who dealy with supervillains, how on Earth is that supposed to put her in touch with normal people, or be something the average reader can relate to? But... if anyone can salvage Wonder Woman, Gail Simone can, and I dearly want to like Wonder Woman.
Countdown to Adventure #1 ~ Another follow-up to 52, in a way - it remains to be seen whether the storyline of the Space Crew (Adam Strange, Starfire, and Animal Man) is to be continued (I'm really hoping for more Lady Styx), but those three characters are the focus of this eight-issue miniseries. Adam Strange has a tricky problem on Rann - which I've never seen before, aside from the brief glimpse at the end of 52, so I don't feel much of a connection to it - while Starfire is still staying with Buddy on Earth, having dangerously exhausted herself getting there to return his jacket. There's some interesting dynamics going on with Buddy's family, with Starfire unintentionally (and unknowingly, so far) providing the catalyst to stir up some trouble between Buddy and Ellen - I kind of wish Buddy was more perceptive of what's going on, because it's more interesting to see really aware characters struggling to cope than oblivious ones, as it takes more intriguing situations to challenge them, but this side of the story is nonetheless quite enjoyable. The eight-page backup story features Forerunner, the not especially popular new face from Countdown, and it's honestly not bad. She provides a quick summary of her people, which borrows a lot from Dune and has some hokey pulp sci-fi behind it - but in eight pages, there's not many authors who could introduce a great deal of depth and subtlety. It's entertaining enough, but I do wonder if it was wise to put the two stories together - unless they're going to merge by the end of the miniseries (which seems doubtful), the price increase for the extra pages could well antagonise 52 readers who don't care for Countdown, and any Countdown reader who didn't read 52 (or who just didn't like the Space Crew story thread in it) isn't going to pay for this just to get the eight pages of Forerunner.
Speaking of the weekly series, I had a quick look through Countdown #35, and it looks like Zatanna's involvement is at an end - nothing revelatory, but fans of the character will be pleased that she didn't get defeated by Mary Marvel just so that DC could demonstrate her power.
