New Comic Day May 31

Ultimate Spider-man #95

This was a good issue for the most part. In terms of fitting in with the rest of the series though, it seems like it's just a two parter to fill in some space before Bendis redoes the Clone Saga (barf). I thought the scene with Peter and MJ was well done and seemed to be the sort of things that two people in that situation would say. Same thing for the Peter/Kitty relationship. However the vampire stuff, as stated just seems to be there for the sake of being there. I would have preferred that instead of a two issue Morbius thing, we get two issues of Peter's love life on the go. Still what's there is good enough for me to recommend the issue.


Robotika #4 (of 4)
This is a weird series, but in a good way. I really liked the artwork and samurai that get annoyed with their former masters and leave to become mercenaries always makes for a good romp. Another thing that I liked was the vertical text used in one of the characters word balloons (see example here). I have never seen this before in comics and thought it was a clever way to portray a character talking in a different language. Apparently there was a fan outcry about it and in this issue, they urge readers to email in with comments and suggestions for how they reprint the series in trade paperback. I think it should be left as is because, although it makes the text hard to read), you really pay attention to what that character has to say. Many times I find myself just burning through a comic in like 5 minutes, but here you have to slow down and pay attention. It's been a while since I read issues #1-3 so I'll re-read them and do a review as a whole in a week or so. It would have been nice to get a greater sense of closure with the series as it ends with saying something like "a new adventure begins" and there will be another series in 2007. I don't really understand why it isn't an ongoing title. Maybe it takes a while to do the artwork. Definately recommended for those that want to try something different.


Ultimate Fantastic Four #30

This issue begins to resolve the Zombie Fantastic Four sub-plot that was begun back in issue #22 or so. I enjoy Millar's writing but it would have been better to do one of the two things he's trying to accomplish here: namely do another Dr. Doom story OR do the Zombies, not both. As well Greg Land does 2/3 of the issue and the the other third is done by someone else who looks like he REALLY rushed through it. Greg Land hasn't really impressed me too much as his characters tend to look pretty stiff and his poses are nearly identical everytime you see the same character. I think the second issue of this three parter will be better as we (hopefully) get to see the zombies in action. This issue is not particularly recommended.