Quick Hits - Comics for week of 4/30

Another round of Quick Hits:

DCU #0: Different in concept from Countdown to Infinite Crisis and Brave New World, DCU #0 is basically a set of short trailers for different storylines for several titles coming through the rest of this year. The art was well done, though your mileage may vary due to the different artists working on each trailer, and the writing was strong enough to make most of these trailers successful. DC could publish a book like this once or twice a year to promote upcoming stories and to help raise awareness of certain titles, for if DCU #0 has anything questionable about it is that each of these titles, save Wonder Woman, has already been heavily promoted and this is the icing on the cake. This book could have been ruined by focusing too much on the "big reveal" of the final page, but the writing is strong enough and the hooks in each trailer are well done enough that the book is more than the final page. Verdict: 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

Action Comics #864: Taking a cue from DCU #0, this issue is largely a preview for the upcoming Legion of Three Worlds arc coming later this summer. The art is strong though and the interactions between Lightning Lad and Batman are exceedingly well done. The ominous voice over is handled well and the reveal at the final page, while not unexpected, was put together well and certainly builds excitement for the coming miniseries. Verdict: 4 stars out of 5.

Green Lantern #30: The cleverly done set up of the upcoming Blackest Night storyline with the retelling of the origin of Hal Jordan continues along. The art continues to be consistent in this book with Ivan Reis creating a cohesive and strong look for the book. While part of me wishes we were investigating the different colored lanterns and continuing to hunt the Sinestro Corps, I will admit that this is an origin story done right. Verdict: 4 stars out of 5.

Thor: Ages of Thunder: Matt Fraction continues his apparent quest to write every non-Bendis or Millar book in the Marvel stable with this first in a small series of Thor one-shots. In Ages of Thunder we have two stories of Thor in a more Norse mythological setting than we usually see him. Fraction for the most part does a good job in maintaining a mythical quality to this Thor stories, though there are a few clunkers in the dialog in which Fraction breaks his mythic prose with a far too modern turn of phrase. The pencils of Patrick Zircher are well done and he certainly captures an Asgard that we do not see in the comics. Good moments with Loki, the Enchantress, and Odin help these stories keep from being too centered on Thor killing frost giants. Verdict: 4 stars out of 5.