You have become a greater man than I

Undying Love #2 ****1/2
Writers: Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman
Artists: Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman
Cover Artists: Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman
Publisher: Image

I know by now a great deal of you no longer want anything to do with vampires, but if you're not reading this, then you're truly missing out. Now, technically this issue is set to be released this Wed. but because I had the great opportunity of meeting these guys at FCBD, I also got an early copy. And because I've read it already, I know what I'm talking about when I say you should pick this book up. Issue #1 is already in it's third printing, so that should mean something.
As I was saying. Not only is this a great, and different, take on vampires but what sells this book is the storytelling ability, in both the writing and the art (which, by the way, the same two guys do both.) There is a significant amount of violence, which is to be expected, but it just works with the story. The underlying story though, is a love story, and it is apparent, even amidst the severed body parts and gushing blood.

Gladstones School for World Conquerors #1 ***1/2
Writer: Mark Andrew Smith
Artists: Armand Villavert Jr. and Carlos Carrasco
Cover Artists: Armand Villavert Jr. and Carlos Carrasco
Publisher: Image

At the recommendation of my comic book store guy, Nick, we picked up this quirky new book. Basically, it's about a school for villain-in-training kids where they learn all the basics of villain-ry, such as victory speeches and battle training. This was a really fun read. The plot is interesting, the characters are amusing, and the art looks great. There's also a bit of a twist in the story which I think is great. The kids all believe they're training to be first class villains, but not everything is as it seems. It's that kind of a twist that is alway enjoyable in a new series.

Fear Itself #2 ***
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Laura Martin
Cover Artist: Stuart Immonen and Steve McNiven
Publisher: Marvel

This is actually turning out to be a fairly exciting book. Not that I didn't believe in Matt Fraction's ability to tell a story ( loved his run on Uncanny X-Men) the plot just didn't interest me. Now that it has started though, it has grabbed my attention. Having said all of that, this issue was more of a story building issue. A lot of stuff happened, but at the same time very little happened. Hammers have begun dropping from the skies and have claimed new wielders. Meanwhile in Asgard, Thor has been imprisoned by Odin, who is alarmed by the return of the All-Father. My Asgardian history is minimal at best, so I'm not particularly sure why everyone's so afraid, but that being said, this is so far developing into a great event.

Uncanny X-Force #9 ****1/2
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Billy Tan
Cover Artist: Esad Ribic
Publisher: Marvel

Seemingly every two weeks now (not really but still), we get a new issue and I'm loving it. The previous stories had the habit of going something like this: Deadpool scopes out a place, Deadpool gets into trouble, the Team comes in, Battle ensues, and then it ends and it has worked extremely well so far. This issue takes a different, and some would say necessary, route. Wolverine takes the spotlight, for the first time, in this issue as he runs an emotional errand for Magneto. The art in this issue was just gorgeous stuff, Billy Tan is definitely bringing his A game. I love it when a great writer gets paired up with great artists, which has been the case this entire series in my opinion, because then it removes the chances for any distractions.

X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1 ****1/2
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Artists: Roberto de la Torre and Lee Loughridge
Cover Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Publisher: Marvel

This was terrific. Really great stuff. This book, as the title so clearly denotes, is a prelude to the next major X-Men event: Schism. There is a serious trouble coming for the X-Men and the casualties are going to be very high. This issue has the senior advisors all in a tizzy worrying about what Scott will do. The book is essentially a focus on Scott and his new role of Leader, which you might argue is what most of the books have been like recently, but I kid you not when I say that the way this one plays out is different. The art was really fantastic as well, the line quality, the colors it all worked. This has really got me excited about Schism.

Artifacts #7 **1/2
Writer: Ron Marz
Artists: Whilce Portacio, Joe Weems, and Kalman Andrasofszky
Cover Artists:  Joe Weems
Publisher: Top Cow

Artifacts is at a real strange point in the event. I feel the same way about this as I do about Fear Itself, a lot of stuff has happened but at the same time it also feels as if nothing has happened. The only difference between the books is that Fear Itself is on issue #2 and this is on #7. This issue starts off showing us that nobody on the side of good is dead, which is shocking because Aphorodite IX exploded. Sarah killed her, but it turns out there are hundreds more like her. (See, nothing changed) The art was significantly better in this issue, but even that did little to make this a great read. It's not that there is no action, which there is and it's done well, there just doesn't seem like there's been much progression.

As is the norm, my DC reviews can be found here: http://comicattack.net/2011/05/coir50411/