Let's get a little graphic, folks...

As the school year draws toward a close, I've been reading a little more here and there. I'm not yet ready to review Stephen King's Insomnia as I'm only about 2/3 through that one - maybe the end of next week will see that. But I am ready to take a quick run through some of the Marvel comics that I picked up this past week. They're going back to the Sharonville branch this afternoon, so if you're interested, they'll be there for you...

I've never been a huge Hulk fan, and Prelude to Planet Hulk isn't going to draw me into the fold. So many writers have had so many different takes on the Hulk, trying to find some interesting take on the Jeckel & Hyde/Ego & Id combination that is the big green guy and weakling Banner. For a few issues, Hulk is mindless, rampaging across the world. Then, without warning, Hulk has some of Banner's intelect, and then the Hulk's a calm, reasonable killing machine who happens to enjoy smashing things a bit.

This run is nothing more than a brief scene in front of the traveler while the Hulk writers get set for the supposedly big event Planet Hulk - a Hulk as Gladiator/Spartacus story (you know, slave becomes gladiator becomes leader, blech). There isn't anything particularly revelatory or exciting happening in these issues, but it gets the Hulk from Alaska - where Banner has holed up to avoid the world - to Planet Hulk, wherever that is. Every story needs a set up, and this is it.

Skip this trade and just assume that the Hulk somehow got to his next stop. This isn't exactly a great road movie. Bing, Bob, where have you gone?

Then there was the Amazing Spider-Man: New Avengers. Don't know that I'm sold on the concept of Spider-Man being a member of a super team. It's an interesting idea - bringing a loner hero who's always been a bit of an outcast with the press into the fold of the greatest super hero team in the Marvel universe. it certainly cements the growing relationship between Peter and Tony Stark that is being painted as a major plot point in the Civil War storyline of this summer, but it seems to sap a little bit of the uniqueness of web head for me.

This trade isn't a bad one. It shows Peter and his crew joining Avengers' Tower when their house burns down, and the big guy gets to fight and defeat a repowered Hydra organization. Nothing awful, but nothing great either. One thing I've never understood is that there are a bunch of different Spider-Man titled (Amazing, Spectacular, Spider-Man, Uncanny) - admittedly I don't know which are being published still - but I don't know the differences. I've read a few things here and there that suggest that each has a different mission - to show the people side of the story, to show slightly more supernatural storylines, whatever. As an infrequent reader who pops in and out via trades, I don't get the commonr threads, but this and the other threads I've grasped kind of make me curious for the Civil War trades that I assume will eventually come out.

Oh, and in researching these reviews, I ran across a blog that looks pretty fun. It's called NoSheep.net and is one that's at least going to get a brief stop into the rotation. Might earn a permanent place, might not.

More reviews to come - another Spider-Man, new LSH, Wonder Woman. But it's off to start the last day of school. The students (for the most part) left yesterday, but I've paperwork to finish up.

Enjoy the day, everybody. Hope you got to sleep in...