Books of the Week – 06/26/19: The Rest

Generally with the Books of the Week posts, I only post the top 4 to 6 books I purchased each week, based ont he total count. As an experiment, I thought I would offer my take on the remainder of the books I picked up this past week.

1. War of the Reams: Punisher #3 (Marvel) ★★★★
Writer: Gerry Duggan / Art: Marcelo Ferreira & Roberto Poggi / Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg
Guns, death and retribution. Yup, this is a Punisher book alright. It’s actually a good read. Nice action. One of the better WotR battle books.

2. Batman: Damned #3 (DC Black Label) ★★★
Writer: Brain Azzarello / Art: Lee Bermejo / Colors: Lee Bermejo
Oddly compelling story. I enjoyed it, even if I didn’t completely understand it. Art was good, although Batman himself, always seems a bit off.

3. Flash #73 (DC) ★★★
Writer: Joshua Williamson / Art: Howard Porter / Colors: Hi-Fi
A lot of exposition and Barry being whiney. The art felt a bit dodgy at times. Still a good read, but I hope this was just a hiccup.

4. War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #4 (Marvel) ★★★
Writer: Greg Pak / Art: Gang Hyuk Lim, Moy R. & Pop Mhan / Colors: Federico Blee & Andres Mossa
A little too simple a victory, with a twist that felt a bit forced. Not a bad conclusion, but a perhaps a bit rote. The art, by Gang Hyuk Lim, was excellent as usual. I love Sindr.

5. Avengers #20 (Marvel) ★★★
Writer: Jason Aaron / Art: Ed McGuinness & Mark Morales / Colors: Jason Keith
Interesting look at the ‘new’ She-Hulk. I like the narration and the backstory. Still not sure where they’re going wth this. I do miss the old Jen.

6. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #8 (Marvel) ★★★
Writer: Tom Taylor / Art: Ken Lashley & Scott Hanna / Colors: Nolan Woodard
Lots of set-up. Creepy villain. Art continuity mistakes. Snappy patter. This book has it all. Just wish it was better.

7. Amazing Spider-Man #24 (Marvel) ★★
Writer: Nick Spencer / Art: Ryan Ottley with Mark Morales & Cliff Rathburn / Colors: Nathan Fairbairn
Ottley’s art continues to bring this book down for me. It’s like a poor man’s (late period) Sal Buscema. This story should have been dark and mysterious. Instead it just fell flat. Not a good mix with Spencer’s writing.

8. War of the Realms: Uncanny X-Men #3 (Marvel) ★
Writer: Matthew Rosenberg / Art: Pere Perez / Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg
The weakest of the WotR titles ends with a thud. Big moments get lost amid silly resolutions and a deep backstory that confuses more than it enlightens. The art was nice though.