Gotham City Sirens No. 20
Harley Quinn may best be known for her unfathomable love of "Mr. J.," but this issue explores the lesser-known trait of the Joker's right-hand woman: her temper.
In "Gotham City Sirens No. 20," writer Peter Calloway uses Quinn's temper as a plot device for the series. Previously in the series, a man dressed as the Joker assaulted Quinn's new home, thus provoking Quinn to head to Arkham to do what no one has done before: kill the Joker.
Calloway's exploration of Quinn's character is absolutely perfect, reflecting on her journey from Arkham Asylum psychologist to depraved madwoman. As Quinn traverses Arkham's exterior, her inner monologue of the guards' psychological weaknesses proves to be a driving factor in understanding her psyche.
The team-up of artists has done a good job illustrating with a purpose – nothing fancy, no mind-blowing splash pages – just simple, effective artwork. There are one or two panels that are rather exceptional in the issue, where Quinn is illustrated almost as Two-Face, with one side Harley Quinn and the other as her maniacal counterpart, the Joker.
While the rest of the sirens are nowhere to be found in this issue, Quinn's assault on Arkham is a welcome break for the series.
Ultimate Spider-Man No. 154
As Peter Parker begins his tutelage under the iron hand of Tony Stark, everything in Spider-Man's world is beginning to crumble in its typical comic book way, as Black Cat has left half of the Manhattan area destroyed in her wake.
Writer Brian Bendis continues to write one of the best comics in the history of the genre, and the artwork that the Ultimate Spider-Man team puts out brings life to the pubescent Parker.
While covering serious ground with its plot, the issue still manages to put in many humorous quips from Spidey, as his interactions with his childhood hero are absolutely hysterical. As the conflict between Spider-Man, Black Cat and Mysterio concludes, Iron Man leaves Parker with a proposition: when he feels ready, he can come work for Stark, an offer that is most certainly hard to refuse.
The only visible problem with this issue is the length. In one of the smallest issues on the stands, "Ultimate Spider-Man No. 154" makes up for its width with its incredibly fun story. As the team prepares for Parker's inevitable death, many are hoping that long-time artist Mark Bagley will return the comic's artwork to its glorious state.
All of the mysteries will be revealed in the coming issues, and, for that, Ultimate Spider-Man should be the top of any Marvel fanboy's pull list.
Transformers: Rising Storm No. 1
Months before its theatrical release, the team at IDW has been hard at work preparing a comic prequel of the silver screen's titanic caliber. While the issue sets up the scene for the arrival of Shockwave, its intense battle sequences follow the movie's trend of making a phenomenal franchise nearly incomprehensible.
As long as the Transformers comic series has been in production, there has been a continual tug-of-war, as the alternative publisher creates something truly visionary and then follows up with a $4 piece of trash. Strangely, the issue that heralds the blockbuster film of the summer is somewhere in no-man's land.
John Barber, the story's writer, has had an abusive relationship with the franchise, working on the latest three additions to the title with Sector 7, Rising Storm, and Foundation, each of which has been less impressive than the last.
While the issue infiltrates the Autobot commander's emotional depths, Barber manages to create dialogue that is just as uninteresting as Megan Fox's acting ability. Yet, the real travesty is Carlos Magno's imitation of Michael Bay's trademark explosion-latent content, creating a presentation of unintelligible fighting and roughly transitioned dialogues.
Overall, this issue is a larger disappointment than Shia LeBeouf leaving Even Stevens, but for those looking to get their giant-robotic fix, this will suffice until the summer arrives.
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