Review # 146: "Batman R.I.P." and "Time and the Batman"

"Batman R.I.P." is a blatant case of bait-and-switch. But it may also have the coolest moment in the history of the character, so it's a fair trade-off.

Review # 145: "X-Men - X-Tinction Agenda"

Welcome to the 90s, X-Men.

Review # 144: "Planetary"

"Planetary" is a love letter to pop fiction. From superheroes to monster movies to spy thrillers, it touches on so much. But instead of leaving things as they are, writer Warren Ellis and artist John Cassaday take to the project like master chefs. They offer a classic flavour with a bold new twist: What if all these wonders existed in society, yet were hidden from the public eye? Such is the heart of the Planetary organization: documenting the "true" history of the world.

Review # 143: "Captain America LIVES!"

As much as I like Bucky Barnes as Captain America, he truly is better as Winter Soldier. Still, he was a great Cap and kudos to Ed Brubaker for not screwing him over when Steve Rogers was brought back to life.

Review # 142: "X-Men - Road to Onslaught Vol. 2"

Another volume of X-Men from the Nicieza-Harras-Lobdell (NHL) era during a time I thought they were doing pretty well. It's strange, though, how a collection this thick barely seems to move anything forward.

Review # 141: "Y: The Last Man - 'Motherland' and 'Whys and Wherefores'"

The ending of "Y: The Last Man" can be emotionally devastating. Brian K. Vaughan does an A+ job at wrapping up his story, but that doesn't mean the result is happy.

Review # 140: "She-Hulk by Dan Slott - The Complete Collection Vol. 2"

For such a lighthearted book, Dan Slott's "She-Hulk" sure does run the gamut of emotions. It's cheerful, it's sad and - in one case - pretty damn uncomfortable to read.

Review # 139: "Batman and Son"

Grant Morrison is a mad genius. You're talking about a comic book writer who develops insane, complex backstories for characters who appear in only one panel. A writer known for dropping subtle hints outlining what is to come, and tiny elements that play a big part later.

Review # 138: "The Death of Captain America"

When Marvel killed off Captain America in 2007, I thought they were nuts.

Review # 137: "Magik: Storm and Illyana"

This will be fun. My favourite comic writer of all time teamed up with a penciller and inker who I recently panned.

Review # 136: "The Mighty Thor by Walter Simonson Vol. 5"

With Walt Simonson's deep respect of Thor's mythological history, there really is only one way to conclude his time with the title: by adapting the prophecy of Thor's own destruction.

Review # 135: "X-Men: Fall of the Mutants"

Regarded as the second major X-Men crossover, "Fall of the Mutants" takes a much better approach for its titles at the time than what had been done in its predecessor "Mutant Massacre." In essence, it's not a crossover at all - each series was slated to go through a significant change at exactly the same time under the same banner headline. This allowed the creators to do whatever they wanted and fail or succeed on their own merits.

Review # 134: "Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus Vol. 1"

Reed Richards has gone through the ringer lately, with several writers suggesting that Mr. Fantastic is not so fantastic after all. From the horrific zombie Reed Richards in "Marvel Zombies" to the fate of Ultimate Universe Reed to nefarious "Planetary" analogue Randall Dowling, there is potential for great evil in the leader of the Fantastic Four.

Review # 133: "Age of Ultron"

"Age of Ultron" is a poorly-executed, confusing mess of an event comic with a misleading title that - for whatever reason - I found to be incredibly gripping from start to finish.