The Bill May 25, 2011

In my head, disappointing books are almost worse than straight up bad books. A bad book you don't have any expectations for, and will totally surprise you every once in a while. But those disappointing books, they've done something to earn that title. More often than not, they've squandered some kind of inherent good will in the premise and that just makes me sad.

What could I possibly be talking about? Come check me out after the banner to find out.




Just Disappointing...:

Power Man and Iron Fist # 5
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Wellington Alves


This book should be off the charts with awesomeness. It's a great creator with fabulous characters and a fantastic set up, but in the end it just sits there... being a shadow of what it could be.

It's strange, the series as a whole feels both rushed and padded at the same time. And that's never a good sign. I found myself, as I was reading this, wondering what the deal was with the Commedia del'muerte and worse, not really caring what the answer was. Don't even get me started on the whole "Who is Noir" reveal at the end, the less said about that the better.

I dunno, this series was just... not good. For all the promise (and the Don of the Dead appearance), this series was very lackluster. That said, I like everything involved so I'd totally be on board for a second series, but that one I'd only stick with if it kicks things up a notch.

Probably two...




Not As Good As It Should Be:

Amazing Spider-Man #662
Writer: Christos Gage
Artist: Reilly Brown


There's nothing to not like about this book (well, aside from the post-OMD Spider-man, but that's a discussion for a different day), but for some reason it's just not working for me.

As a quick done-in-two, Marvel Team Up style adventure between Spidey and Avengers Academy, it should be firing on all cylinders and be nothing but great. Instead, I found it kind of lacking. It's tough because I can't really pinpoint what my problem is.

I keep thinking that it's because the kids were not totally in synch with their character, but that can't be because Gage is writing. You know, it might just be the throwaway nature of the adventure that's holding me up. The fact that these kids aren't having major turning points in their side adventure with Spidey is a good thing, but I think that's what I expect from those characters because that's what happens in their book every month.

See, there you go: expectations not met = disappointment. You can't fight that kind of math...




And there you go, a bit of disappointment to balance out the lovefest that was last week. Hopefully next week I can achieve some kind of balance in the article... yeah, that'd be kinda nice...