A nice little story about Superboy.

Johns helped bring the Teen Titans back into the mainstream. One of his major players there was Superboy himself. In doing so he put the kid through hell and back. This is pretty much Johns swan song for the character, a way to clear the air, and give him something to look forward to. Will Connor choose to be more like Superman or more like Lex Luthor?

The figuring out who you are with a superhero twist was done well here. It helped the art was great and a nice mix of humor and emotional moments here. It was hard to tell where the story was going at first but once it got going I think getting down to Superboy's core is the best part of the character. He questions things we all question and so we can relate.

A 4 out of 5.

Teen Titans is getting better and better, this being the best volume yet.

The biggest focus here is Crush and Djinn. Crush's good old father comes for a visit and we all know how nice of a dude Lobo is. So with Lobo doing his piece of shit thing, we also focus on someone backstabbing the group. One is a traitor. On top of though we have a lot of character development with multiple characters and this is the first volume to have the team actually work as a team more than fighting (though there's plenty of that too).

Overall, this was really enjoyable. I like seeing our heroes conflicted on how to fight evil. How to fix it is even a better question. The art is solid and gives everyone unique and well done designs. The newer characters shine here and I've even come to like Crush a lot more here. The future of this title is becoming more interesting.

A 4 out of 5.

Bendis keeps the momentum going with another really good volume for Ultimate X-Men.

This time we have Emma frost enter the picture. FAR different from the version we got in the regular 616, this one wants so start her own club of Mutants, but more for peace than fighting. Beast is all trying to figure out what to do with his life. Wolverine is dealing with more internal issues as always. And Angel comes on the scene, and him and Storm have a special bond right from the get-go. Oh also there is a issue where Wolverine has to some some shady shit to protect mutants and it's amazing with a lot of emotion.

Overall, this is a really solid volume. I really loved the intimate moments with the characters. Especially storm and Angel, or beast and Xavier, Cyclops and Jean and so on. All worked well together. Also some big plot progression with major deaths happening in this volume. I think Bendis on this title did wonders, sad he's leaving next volume, but he did well here.

A 4 out of 5.

Sinister: I know Xavier's greatest weakness.
Xavier: What are you doing?
Sinister: STAIRS!

*Proceeds to throw Xavier down a flight of stairs*

Okay I know it's bad to laugh but it did, and Sinister is a piece of shit here but damn if he isn't fun. I love a good villain and when Sinister is introduced as a horseman to Apoclypse, the X-Men have a new baddie to deal with. Rogue, Nightcrawler, Angel and more get to shine here as new members of the X-Men team. We also get Dazzlers crazy ass to help too.

Overall, this is a quick but fun volume of X-men. To see them all have to figure out how to stop someone as sinister as Sinister was fun. Brian K Vaughan keeps the dialogue tight with some good jokes, good character motivation, and fights. This continues bendis strong run for the series and I'll jump into the next one soon!

A 4 out of 5.

Upon re-reading comics that got me into comics I decided to pick up my volume 1 of Ultimate Spider-man. I remember first opening this book at around 12 or 13 and just loving every minute of it. Now that I'm 31 years old, does it still hold up? Well...YES.

This was prime time Spidy. While amazing Spider-man in the 616 was in good hands and focused on an adult Peter dealing with being a teacher and soon to be husband, this was all about Pete back in High School. The thing Bendis does really well back then is teenage talk, and everyone here bounces back and forth but it works 100%. On top of that you got Peter's origins but also Green Goblin. A two in one!

I really dug this Peter. It's similar to the 616 of being a nerd who gets bullied, gets powers, kind of a jerk, and learns his lesson. So that's all here. What they VASTLY improve on is MJ, who really clicks with Peter from the get go. I also think Green Goblin is scary as shit in this universe, and even not in his final form, his massive hulk like figure is scary in comparison to Spider-man's small features. The pacing works well and I think the change of how Ben died, and also the fact Peter's breakdown is near perfect, really help here. The art? SOOOO GOOOOOOD.

I wasn't a huge fan of Harry in Ultimate Universe and this re-read doesn't change my mind.

But even with Harry being meh, the rest is sooooo good it's easy to still give this great scores. A very very very easy 4.5 out of 5.

Spider-man Vs Kingpin!

Little scrawny dude verses fat gigantic mobster.

Bendis really hits his stride here as he shows Peter figuring out how to fight crime. Not only is Peter still learning but I love how many fuck ups he has. Losing to regular gangsters sometimes, villains putting him in extremely bad situations, and fights getting brutal. Oh and Kingpin? Goddamn is he a villain in here.

First let me state Bendis writes Peter and MJ so perfect it's SO FUCKING CUTE. I love them as friends and we know they'll be lovers soon. The last issue especially is PERFECT Spider-man comic. But the Kingpin stuff is also great. How Peter gets a job is a little too convenient for me but the rest really works. I also really enjoy the humor as I usually have issues with how most people write Peter's jokes but here they work.

Yeah, Ultimate Spider-man is becoming such a nice re-read now that I'm finished with volume 2. I can't wait to keep reading. A 5 out of 5.

This volume was just okay.

This one brings back Gambit and...well let's just say I never really did care about the character. This one mostly focuses on Rogue and people trying to recruit her. On top of that we got Gambit hitting the X-Men and making them all suffer. Also Storm is confused, kitty, bobby, and rogue all are in a love triangle of sorts, and...this doesn't go anywhere special.

The stuff with Gambit and Rogue is fine, but still meh. I also thought the love triangle was cute but lead nowhere once more. There's a few good moments like Nightcrawler and angel stuff. But overall this is just okay. Nothing to really write home about.

A 2.5 out of 5.

King strikes gold again with this fantastic Superman title.

It starts off simple enough. Someone has attacked a family, killed the parents, left one child hurt, and another kidnapped. The one child who is hurt tells Superman who took her sister. Shortly after the child passes away. Batman ask Superman to travel to the ends of the Universe to get this child back. Only Superman would be able to withstand what is coming and the heroes put their trust and faith in him. So up up and AWAY! Superman goes on a rescue mission for the ages.

This is a pretty long book with multiple adventures for Superman to go through. Some about him fighting in a boxing match on a alien planet, to deciding if Clark or Superman can really rescue this girl by having some internal mind issues, and then of course Superman facing off against aliens in a epic battle. Some of the adventures do tend to be a bit on the nose at points and not as interesting but when they're good, they're fucking great. The last two issues, especially the final one, is near perfect. It's what I would show people if they ask me a great Superman piece to read.

While not perfect, it'll probably end up in my top 5 Superman titles of all time thanks to the strongest ending I've read in awhile. a 4.5 out of 5.

This was just okay. I thought it was cool to see Tony be using his brain instead of fighting. But honestly this felt like a filler episode in a anime. Doc Ock wants tony to save him but mostly to prove he's smarter...silly. A 2.5 out of 5.

I actually had to look up "Suggested for Mature Readers" line in the 80's and 90's after reading this. I saw Green Arrow wasn't on Vertigo but this title contained plenty of cursing, murder, and sex. Learned it was a title that still focused on more superheroish heroes while still being M rated. Interesting. Kind of like the pre-black label days.

Anyway, on to volume 5. This is about midway point for Grell run and it's pretty great. The first portion is about a man being hunted and Green Arrow becomes apart of it. The 2nd story is Green Arrow going on a mission, getting kidnapped, and tortured, and Black Canary comes to the rescue. The last volume is having Green Arrow try to exact revenge but also dealing with a heavy dose of PTSD.

I really dug most of this. Let's talk about weakest part. The first story is just okay. Its message is solid enough but the storytelling is confusing. Now, with that out of the way, the next story about Street Crime and Green Arrow tortured is both fucked up and well done. Then we have Black Canary take the spotlight and she's boss. Then the final storyline is great, and I love seeing both of Oliver's loves in his life come together to help him.

This has been a great run for the most part and it's mostly thanks to Grell obviously wanting to write Oliver in a new light. A darker and grittier take but it works well. A 4 out of 5.