Comic book reviews - Batman #666, Countdown 40, Amazing Spider-Man #542, Mighty Avengers #4

Alright, another week and some more comic reviews. This week, all of the books I'm writing a review on are all from popular series now. Some of them were a disappointment , while others were, as expected, really good. So let's do this thing -

Batman #666 (reported earlier)

Yesterday I said that this would no doubt be an issue to get... When I wrote that, I haven't read the title yet, because I was skimming through some other comics I got. I can now say that I've read the issue, and thus I'll write a review on it -

The story takes place way in the future where the Batman that we know and love is dead, and his son is the new Batman. This all happened way to quickly for me, and a few pages in the book I didn't know what in the world was going on. Apparently this new Batman sold his soul to Satan and now he's fighting demons and apes and some whacked out doll. The art is so-so, though I've always noted that when it comes to art, Marvel takes the prize.

The writer is apparently famous, though I didn't notice anything outstanding while reading. Saddly the 666th issue which was super hyped by everyone ended up being a bust in my opinion, and this will be the last Batman comic I read for awhile until DC manages to bring the series back...

6/10

Countdown 40

I'm really surprised in how this series is being so bad. It's not entirely as bad as, say, the Ghost Rider comics that are going on right now, though they're more disappointing because of all the hype the series has generated prior to the first issue. I thought that this would be a huge series, much like Marvel's Civil War was, and I didn't think there would be many issues that were so uninteresting. Almost every week we get another issue that you'd be better off just passing by unless you've decided to collect them all (raises hand).

The battle between the amazon men (I don't know what the species is really called, so I'll just stick with the name I gave them), isn't remarkable, and the characters just aren't that interesting. I'm sure once the countdown gets farther down the line it'll be better, though for now just buy it and don't expect anything great...

5/10

Amazing Spider-Man #542

The new back in black five part series has been going very well. This issue is probably my favorite so far, as it features the battle that we've all been waiting for - Spider-Man vs. the King Pin. The thing I really like about the battle is the fact that Peter doesn't use any webbing or tricks to fight the King Pin, but rather it's just a one on one brawl without any real super powers (though I'm sure his spidey-since was in use!).

While it seemed appropriate not to allow the King Pin even touch Peter, it was just a little disappointing. Peter would obviously have one either way, though it's always good to see the hero get smashed a few times too.

Also not featured were the love em or hate em comedic (or non-comedic, depending on who you are) remarks that Spider-Man seems to always do as a comic relief. This time he was pissed, and you could clearly see it...

While the greatest part of the comic was the battle, the most surprising part was the preview for next month's issue, which concludes the back in black series.

9/10

Mighty Avengers #4

I enjoyed the first issue a lot, and had high hopes for the series. I am very fond of the Avengers and Ultimates series, so when the first issue came out, I rushed over to buy it, expecting the best. And I got the best, however lately the series has just been average, expected, and just not as nail-biting as I had hoped. This whole weather manipulating thing sounded cool at first, though it just seems unoriginal now, and while everyone obviously wants to know what happened to Tony, I'd say that he's still alive seeing that he has a big future in comics...

6/10