Lovestruck

Lovestruck is hands down my pick for best OGN of 2011. It's not too often anymore that I read a book and immediately wish there was more when I finish with it. But this was that rare gem.
It's a story where love is a commodity and Cupid sends his "salesmen" out to procure him the most profits. His most profitable agent is Kalli Monroe, and this is her story of discovering the behind-the-scenes aspect of the love business and how she uses her powers for the corporation. But not all is sweet chocolate kisses, as we find out love is a dirty business.
Dennis Hopeless is emerging as a top writer in the field. I've not read everything by him, but between this and Marvel's Legion of Monsters, plus the preview for the upcoming X-Men Season One OGN, he's got all the talent to make him a superstar. I had the same feeling with Nick Spencer, and look how big he's become. Dennis makes these characters feel real, even though they have powers. They're immediately likeable, with their snarky attitudes and whip-smart lines. Today's youth can definitely relate to them, while my generation (let's not say older, okay?) can still sense where they're coming from. A very hard thing to do anymore. But it's done perfectly. The overall story is fresh and original. Definitely not like anything else you'll find on the racks. Also something apparently hard to do anymore. And it's all packaged by an art style by Kevin Mellon that allows you to immediately immerse yourself in this believable, yet unbelievable tale. The art is crisp, giving each character their own unique look. That's an important thing in a tale that's basically filled with your average teenagers. But each one breathes their own distinct life. Very visually appealing.
So, if you want a book that is far from your standard tale, then you need look no further. You've found your winner right here.

Carnage U.S.A. #1

Carnage is back, and he's as sadistic as ever. This time he plans on re-making an entire town in his image, then the world. It's up to Spider-Man & the Avengers to stop him.
Zeb Wells is quickly proving himself to be one of the best Spider-Man family writers of the past 10 years. He was one of the better writers on Amazing Spider-Man during the Braintrust days, and he's currently hitting it out of the park on Avenging Spider-Man. In this sequel to his Carnage series from last year, he's taking the vileness of Cletus Kasady & Carnage to a whole new level. But he still manages to throw in the right amount of levity that the best Spider-Man stories have. Hawkeye is especially well portrayed.
Clayton Crain continues to prove himself as one of the top digital artists in the field. I'll admit that sometimes his artwork gets muddled down to an almost confusing level because of all the complex detail he adds. Not in this issue though. Everything is clean and precise and absolutely stunning. Sometimes grotesquely stunning. Not many artists can use a computer to create such magnificence like Clayton can.
This was an extremely fun book to read. And some of that fun was the twisted mind of Kasady. Does that make me a bad person? Who knows. But it definitely doesn't make this a bad book. Definite recommendation on this one.

Avengers: X-Sanction #1

The road to Avengers vs. X-Men begins here. Well, technically it began in Marvel Point One, but that was such a short story, that we'll just call that a prologue.
Cable's back, and he's got 24 hours to stop the Avengers. Stop them from what? That's the catch. All we know is it has something to do with Hope, who will also be a huge focus of AvX. This first issue has Cable already back, setting his trap for the Avengers, as he takes them out one by one. That's a cool aspect, because if he was to take them on all at once, he probably wouldn't stand a chance. But Cable's been around long enough, and in enough skirmishes to know the best way to stop his opponents.
I just wish it wasn't such a quick read. I feel with only 4 issues in this series that we should've gotten more backstory in this first issue. The way it's laid out, it seems like the whole series will be jumping back and forth from the present where Cable attacks the Avengers, and the future, where we see how he managed to survive the end of the Second Coming story to return to the past (our present). Hopefully it doesn't take all 4 parts to tell us how he comes back, because that'll be quite needless. But we'll have to see.
It's nice to see Jeph Loeb back on Cable again. Jeph's got a long history with the character, and there isn't a better choice to handle his return. Even though I have a feeling it's going to be a short lived one. Having Ed McGuinness as Loeb's partner-in-crime on art is the perfect complement. Those two have always been a great match. Maybe even better than Loeb & Sale. And Ed's really on his game here. The combatants really exude that superhero style you want in a book that's just one big brawl.
While I was hoping for more explanations and plot, I did enjoy this book for what it was: a ground layer for much bigger things to come. There's a storm brewing, and it's name is the Phoenix...

Uncanny X-Force #18

The Dark Angel Saga has been one of the most ambitious X-Men storylines ever told. It definitely harkens back to the similarly titled Dark Phoenix Saga. The total corruption of Warren Worthington III into Archangel yet again into the reborn Apocalypse has been an incredible journey.That's why it saddens me that the final part has left me feeling flat. It just didn't have the finality that we, as readers, deserved. The payoff, while nicely unexpected, just didn't fit to me. Maybe it's because there's more story to be told. Maybe it's because after all is said and done, I feel this whole story was almost a set up for a different story. Maybe it's because it drug on for about 2 issues too long. I just know for sure this last part seemed rushed. The final battle reminded me of what's so wrong with a lot of today's blockbuster movies; the build-up is phenomenal, but the climatic battle is short, and eventually anti-climatic.
Overall, the book still had everything that makes Uncanny X-Force the best X-title out there: the art was fantastic (the mixture of Jerome Opena on the main story and Esad Ribic on the dream sequences was shared expertly), the dialog was sharp, and the characteristics were spot on. It's just the wrap up was too short. Too neat of a package. I expected much more, and got about half of what I feel we deserved after putting so much into so many months of reading.
Does this make me want to stop reading the book? Not at all. Like I already said, it's the best X-book out there. I guess that's why I expected more from it.

Batgirl #2 & #3

Continuing to catch up on my DC books, I'm discovering a disturbing trend: a lot of books that had good first issues, have gone downhill from there. Batgirl's a prime example, and her first issue wasn't all that enthralling to begin with.
The art is still fine. My only two problems with it are the fact that Babs seems too young. I know that the characters in the DCnU have been slightly de-aged in areas, but the Bat-books are supposed to be continuing from the old continuity. Even Bruce Wayne looks too young now. And yet Dick Grayson looks like he used to? Headache, you may now begin. My other problem is the suit; it just looks too armored. If it turns out to be part of the plot, then I can accept it, but with no explaination yet (unless I'm forgetting that from the first issue), it looks terrible.
The storytelling is my main problem. The fact that Barbara is screwing up left and right is explained as her not doing the whole superhero gig for several years, due to her paralysis. Yet it's said she was shot only three years prior. So in that time she forgot how to handle herself and use her smarts? I thought she had still been Oracle? If that's the case, why is she acting like such a rookie now? It's weak. The fact that they still don't explain how she can walk is extremely annoying. I understand not answering all questions immediately to keep the reader coming back, but I feel this is unacceptable in this case. The fact that Barbara would be walking again was a MAJOR controversy when the DCnU was announced. To not give any answer by now is an injustice to her fans. Frankly, this whole series is an injustice to her fans. This makes Batgirl seem incompetent, useless, and downright unlikeable. I really hope this gets fixed quickly, because if not, a once great character's potential has been needlessly squandered. I also hate how each issue has ended so abruptly. You expect to turn the page to see more story, and all you get is To Be Continued. Pathetic pacing. A good story keeps you hooked, not wondering if you're missing a page. But this whole series has been keeping me wondering. Wondering when a better story will appear.