Ultimate Comics : Avengers 2 #4

After an amazing run writing great “Ultimates” books (1,2 and Ultimate Comics Avengers 1), I think Mark Millar just doesn’t care anymore. This is a bold statement to make, but considering he’s Hollywood’s new “IT” comic writer with “Kick-Ass” doing well at the box office and a number books he hasn’t even finished writing already being optioned by studios, he’s really busy and could care less about writing another Ultimates book for Marvel. You also have to consider that after the abomination that was “Ultimates 3” and “Ultimatum” –yeah, I’m still on that-it can be really hard to make those characters your own again. But that’s no excuse. Mark Millar is a great writer and is able to combine both action reserved for blockbuster films with superb storytelling and if you’ve been reading “Ultimate Comics: Avengers 2’ you have every right to be disappointed. It feels like Millar isn’t trying, even with superb talent at his side, artist Lenil Yu, and the introductions of deep, human characters, Ghostrider and the Punisher. He just gives a lame action story that is the film equivalent of a Michael Bay movie. It’s always depressing to see resources and talent go down the toilet, especially in the very competitive world of comic books. I don’t think it’s going to get any better. Hey, at least we still have “Nemesis”.

Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #3

Recreating a superhero is no small feat, especially after “Watchmen”. But it’s been done so many times with great writers at the helm, each trying to out do a previous one. There’s been Alan Moore’s run on “Swamp Thing” and “Miracle Man”, James Robinson’s “Starman”, “Invincible” and many others. A lot more people have tried and it’s ended terribly for the. But not Grant Morrison. His unorthodox style to writing comics,unlimited creativity, and rumored drug use make him one of the best writers in comics today.

Morrison kills Batman in “Batman: R.I.P” and again in “Final Crisis," one of the most complicated and entertaining DC books in the past 3 years. Which is why it was fitting for the writer to bring back the Dark Knight, in not one, but two books: the phenomenal “Batman and Robin” and “Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne”. In the latter, Grant Morrison rewrites Batman’s history and creates an amazing legacy of the Wayne family that spans throughout time. Instead of having Bruce Wayne killed, Wayne is sent through time fighting various anomalies and making his way back to the present. Each issue covers a different time period while Bruce fights his way back home. There is a Legion of Superheroes subplot, but it’s nothing compared to seeing Batman in other times, solving mysteries throughout the time of witch hunts or defeating angry cavemen. This is one of the books you have to be reading this summer. It's so good, even with a depleted bank account, I still had to buy this book. If you’re reading one book this summer, make sure this is it.