This week, in Comic Book Land ...

Uncanny X-Men 470
Dear Chris Claremont,
Thank you for bringing Rachel Summers (nay Grey) back to the X-Men; she was sorely missed after the whole "swapping places with Brian Braddock in the time stream, then getting lost in such and ending up at the end of time after Cable negated the whole Askani timeline that she was supposed to end up in and then him bringing her back to the current timeline and her going back to college and not wanting Jean or Scott to know she's alive (although Jean did know because she made that holempathic crystal for her because she knew she was going to die), and then going off into character limbo, only to be brought back as some evil guy's puppet and having gotten that weird shadowy telepathic thing that Jean got from Psylocke" thing.

But, you know, did you have to make her such a whiny bitch? I mean, over the years, Rachel has grown as a character, especially after Jean accepted her as her daughter. And yeah, Rachel did lose Jean and all of her side of this alternate-reality family, but, come on, let her grow as a character and not always be the angsty teen she was when you first wrote her into comic books.

Oh yeah, and please get Cannonball in a new outfit; the huge "C" on his chest is just fucking ridiculous. That's all.

Sincerely,
LtFlux

X-Factor 4
The good: the issue is worth it for the following exchange:

Monet: "Jamie wants you to deal with the corpse on the floor."
Layla: "Okey-dokey."

The bad: Editors and writers, please do your fucking research and don't have Siryn and Rictor act like they don't have some history. I somehow don't think Rictor would forget that Terry is an alcoholic when it was a huge plot point that concerned everyone back when they were on X-Force. Also, don't let Terry lose her powers again. Isn't enough that her dad just got killed over in X-Men: Deadly Genesis? And, hello, her name is Siryn. If she goes mute again, I may have to kill someone.

The Ultimates2 10
I had to make two trips two the comic book store this week because I completely forgot that this issue was coming out. But, OMG! So worth it! There's nothing to not like about this issue. We get background on the big bads (come on, Ultimate Swarm!!!), get multiple Ultrons, Tony nonchalantly saying he just brain-damaged his fiancee, Hawkeye kill people by flinging his fingernails, and the ending. Oh my. Too bad it'll be months until the next issue. Damn.

Ms. Marvel 1
Dear Marvel,
Thank you for giving Ms. Marvel her own series again. It's nice to see you all being so pro-female heroes these days, what with this series, the upcoming Spider-Woman series, and I'm sure I'm missing something else.

And it's great to see that someone out there remembers that Carol and Jessica Drew are good friends. But, you know, it would've probably been better had the scene been with Carol and Jessica Jones, since, you know, they've been like best friends of late (over in Alias and The Pulse). Or does this issue take place right after Ms. Jones gives birth? Throw me a bone here.

Also, Carol's publicist seems to remember everything else Carol's done except when she was a magazine editor (you know, back in the first Ms. Marvel series). Oh well, beggers can't be chosers. Oh, wait, I guess I can be since I'm the one shelling out money. Heh.

Sincerely,
LtFlux

Infinite Crisis 5
This Earth-2 is fake, you say? Way to go, Justice Society. And why does Lois-2 look so damn evil? And is that some concern Lex is showing towards Conner? Weirdness. Nice to see Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman interact. The Supermen fight could've been better. And you kinda feel sorry for the lonesome Nightwing in Titans Tower. The spread of all the Earths (with several exploding) over Titans Tower — breathless. And exactly which Flash made it back? And Superboy Prime looks fucking pissed. I need issue 6 now! Now, I say!

Batman Annual 25
Finally we get the explanation about why and how Jason Todd (aka Robin II and the Red Hood) is back, and it kinda makes sense, especially with the whole Infinite Crisis debacle. So just say it with me: It's all Superboy Prime's fault. What a douche. The scariest part of the book, though: the panel where Batman has an insane smile on his face and exclaims "HE'S ALIVE!" Also nice to see that Talia Al Ghul got involved. And also, kiss a naked guy then push him off a cliff. If only we all could do something like that. Sigh.

Detective Comics 817
Part one of the eight-part One Year Later story. Commissioner Gordon is the commissioner again. Bullock is back. KGBeast is dead. Harvey Dent is vigilanting (and someone off panel is talking to him, or is Big Bag Harv back?). Ivy is more powerful, although not seen. Some nice little hints at things that have happened. Oh, yeah, and some guy in a batsuit and some kid with an R on his chest show up toward the end. Overall, a pretty good start. Can't wait to see where this is going.

Outsiders 34
Another title goes the time travel route (thanks, DC). First, the best part: Thunder is no longer in that hideous outfit and is now in one that seemingly pays tribute to her father. The issue is pretty action packed, with the Outsiders trying to take down some corruptness in Africa. As for a roll call, there's Nightwing (yay! Dick is back as leader!), the superstrong Grace, the dense Thunder (with previously stated new and improved outfit), the katana-wielding Katana, Metamorpho (Rex Mason, not Shift, which raises some questions), and Captain Boomerang (yeah, the villain). Oh yeah, and they're all presumed dead! Yeah. It's that good.