Bullet Points: Brightest Day#6, Marvel Zombies 5 #5, The Walking Dead #75

Brightest Day #6

DC has got to prove whether it’s learned from year long disasters like Countdown and Trinity, but Brightest Day has yet to really foul up. It’s biggest problem is a lack of consistency and focus. The Hawkman plot takes a back seat this time around just when it was getting interesting for more of Mera and Aquaman, and some cute scenes with Deadman and a cheeseburger. Arguably only the Deadman thread (and how long has he been in the graveyard with Hawk and Dove now?) has anything to do with the bigger picture. It’s all readable stuff if bite-sized, but the lack of focus is getting frustrating and treading water with vague “they came back wrong” warnings can only go so far. It’s about time they went somewhere with it. 3/5

Marvel Zombies 5 #5

It’s been a rough ride for zombie fans in the most throwaway of the Marvel Zombies series to date, but it finally pulls out a winning issue, admitedly based around a cheap joke. The Marvel Zombie virus comes to Earth, our Earth, and infects a movie aware comic geek. Will he succumb like so many others, or become the man he wants to be? This final issue has virtually nothing to do with the rest of the series and it’s probably better for it. Is one genuine bellylaugh worth four issues of crap? Maybe not, but you could do worse than pick this up and pray Marvel see sense enough to lay the concept to rest. 2.5/5

The Walking Dead #75

This one changes everything, so the hype goes. For once it’s right, but it’s just for a laugh. Having finally reached relative safety in a walled community near Washington, Rick’s band of survivors find themselves self destructing. In the middle of an intense fight that sees the leader of the community ready to throw Rick out to face the zombies on his own, he seemingly disappears right in front of everyone, the artwork switches to colour and… drumroll… Rick wakes up on a spaceship. Yes, the Earth has been invaded by aliens who were behind the whole zombie problem so they could wipe us out and get our water. All the characters who have ever died in the series are back as alien stomping cyborgs in a splattery piece of fluff right from the worst of the 90s. It’s complete nonsense and it’s plainly just meant as a joke, so ignore the flaming hatred you might read elsewhere – it probably won’t even make the trade. Sidestepping the joke at the end, it’s a solid issue and the reversal of the situation with the regular survivors potentially being the big threat to the community, is the kick up the ass the series has needed for a while. Pick it up! 5/5

Bullet points: Brightest Day, War of the Supermen, Marvel Zombies 5

Brightest Day #0 – 1

The follow up to Blackest Night is a decent read with some terrific pencils but has yet to really prove itself essential. Something is a little off about the heroes who came back: Martian Manhunter remembers something different about his original trip to Earth, the revived Aquaman still has control over undead sea life, and Dead Man is virtually forced by the Entity to somehow “help [it] live”. Meanwhile the heads of the emotional Corps are based on Earth and debating the relevance of a mysterious White Lantern battery which turned up after the spectacular defeat of Nekron. It’s all very good, but the concept isn’t as easy to grasp as killer zombies and the faint whiff of the debacle that was Millennium’s New Guardians ain’t helping. Still only two issues in it’s decent filler for the moment and light years ahead of Countdown. 3/5

Superman: War of the Supermen #1

Oh well, that’s New Krypton out of the way then. It must be with some sense of relief that the Superman writers can finally see the back of the concept and bring Superman kicking and screaming back to the mainstream DCU, with General Zod, Ursa, Non and a whole army of angry Kryptonians in tow! An Earth-based conspiracy brought an explosive end to the whole problem of New Krypton and gives a valid reason for General Zod (defacto ruler) to declare war on Earth.. and off they go. As a self-contained miniseries it’s doubtful that it will have any real impact, but it’s fun and a nice excuse to see Superman finally acting like Superman again. Let’s hope Zod sticks around when the dust clears. 3/5

Marvel Zombies 5 #1-2

How the mighty have fallen. The best that can be said is that the marvel zombie concept used to be good, but successive sequels have beaten the concept to a bloody pulp and it’s a pale shadow of its former self. Now with the 5th series, Machine Man and a crew which includes Howard the Duck travel to alternate Earths facing variants of the zombie plague and there we have the concept finally jumping the shark. No time to get to know the planets or their heroes, no real sense of danger and no reason to care about anything. Rubbish. 1/5