Bruce Cook Comic Reviews

Black Hammer is absolutely my favorite title on the market right now. Lemire is doing some high level meta-writing that continues to entrance me issue after issue. Now, after six spectacular issues, someone else has cleared the breach and we may, finally, find out exactly what type of crisis it was that shunted our heroes to their brave new world.

Don't come into CAGE! expecting the Bendis/Netflix iteration of the character. Pick up this book if you're looking for something fun to read.

After two issues, I have no idea where this title is going, but so far I'm firmly enjoying the ride. Give CAGE! a look the next time you're at your comic shop. You won't be disappointed.

Issue 4 will, sadly, bring CAGE! to an end, so pick up the first three issues now and get ready for the big coup de grace!

With the current spotlight on Power Manthanks to his Netflix series, its nice to remember what made him a character worth exploring in the first place.

The writing is crisp. The story moves from setting to setting without a hitch. Characters act and talk the way they are supposed to. In short, Tim Seeley gets it all right.

Lemire is at the top of his game here. He's clearly enjoying riffing on characters we know and love while giving them his own unique spin.

Black Hammer is Lemire at the top of his game. He clearly has a love for the characters he based his cast on. Now, he's playing around in his own sandbox with excellent results.

Black Hammer continues to be a really great read. Lemire is playing loose with familiar archetypes and the result is an imminently enjoyable comic book. For the fourth time in four months, if you're not reading this book you really should be!

I've said it before. I'll say it again. Do yourself a favor and pick up Black Hammer. You are going to love it.

Howard the Duck exists in the MCU. This is a good time to get to know him if you don't already. If you're already familiar with his feathered exploits, this is a good way to catch up with an old friend in a new setting.

Now that sides are drawn and things are about to come to a head, I'm anxious to see how the Squadron Supreme balances their newfound conscience with their need for revenge. I'm also really looking forward to the inevitable throwdown between Power Princess and Warrior Woman.

I know Robinson is playing a long game here. I know he got some crossover requirements forced on him. Now, I think, Squadron Supreme is back on firm footing and I'm looking forward to seeing how the new story arc evolves.

Squadron Supreme is in the hands of a quality creative team that continues to do the things that make a comic great. They give us characters to care about. They give us action to cheer about. They give us more to want to read about.

Overall, I'm really enjoying Squadron Supreme. After opening with such a violent salvo, the creative team is doing the right thing by going with smaller, character-driven stories. I'd like to see some more work done with the Blur and Thundra, but that's a minor gripe.

All in all, this was a really good issue for Squadron Supreme. While I'm sad to know that Power Princess is the only survivor of the original Squadron, I'm hopeful that her arrival will return us to the action of the title's first few issues.

I appreciateDC's desire to update a classic character, I just don't think this is the way to do it.

Then again, maybe Nighthawk's murder of robotic hawks will blow up the helicarrier and put us all out of our misery.

Squadron Supreme is still a good title, but it needs to be freed from its mandatory Civil War II tie-ins and get back to the business of being its own title.

Up until now, I've really enjoyed Squadron Supreme and I gave it some leeway because of the team they were trying to build and the story they were telling. I'm not giving them that leeway this month. It's time to focus on the team and their story – together.

So, Squadron Supreme is over. It's probably a few issues to late for the series to be remembered as anything other than a failed experiment. That's too bad, because there was a good series hidden in there somewhere.