My reading list for the week of Aug. 20

I've seen many a' comic book blogger do this with their weekly pick-ups. So here's what I picked up off the racks this week (and you'll quickly notice that I'm a big Marvel fan):

My usual

Incredible Hercules #120
I randomly picked up this book a few months ago after I found out that Greg Pak was writing it. Since then, it's been one of the ones I look forward to picking up every week. In this issue, Hercules and the rest of the God Squad venture into the Skrull gods world to do battle. Pak hasn't disappointed me with this series, so I don't expect a letdown this month.

Review: 3-1/2 out of four stars
Pak and crew continue their witty, banter-heavy tales of Hercules in this latest issue. It's been one of my favorite pick-ups and this one issue the trend. There's nothing like watching Herc and his God Squad stomping into the Skrull gods' home and rumbling.

Uncanny X-Men #501
Aside from my brief indulgence of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures" in 1990, "Uncanny X-Men" was my first true foray into the world of comic books. Although it's been a few years since I've read them consistently (I think I left off around issue #350), it's always held a special place in my heart. I started reading them again starting with #500 when they moved to San Francisco. Old villains return, new heroes make their appearance. Seems like a good start. Writer Ed Brubaker is apparently one of the hotter names in the business, so I should feel confident that he treats the mutant team well. I'm not sold on artist Greg Land's photo-referencing heavy style — the characters kinda look static — but I can't do anything about that.

Review: 2-1/2 out of four stars
Brubaker is setting up his X-Men crew in San Fran. The gist of this issue introduces the reader to who the main players are going to be for the foreseeable future. Wait — that's what he did in issue 500. He does introduce a mutant-hating group that goes around physically assaulting mutants, but aside from the attack on Pixie, there's no action. It's a decent read, but I'm waiting for more.

Marvel 1985 #4
Writer Mark Millar's story about how characters from the Marvel Universe are somehow appearing in a young boy named Toby Goodman's world is one of the more interesting concepts that I've read in a while. Supposedly there's a tie-in with two of Millar's other storylines right now — "Fantastic Four" and the Old-Man Logan story in "Wolverine" — that's supposed to introduce some new bad ass villain. I need to pick up the past few "Fantastic Four" issues to see what's going on.

Review: 2 out of four
This issue spends its time setting up something big for the next issue. Things happen, but nothing significant enough that would make substantial ground between the last issue and the next issue. Meh.

My impulse buy

Captain America #41 Monkey variant
I like Captain America and I like monkeys. Put them together and it's a no-brainer for me. I'm not really sure what's going on in the series right now, but I've read on other blogs that the storyline is interesting. Whatever. I have a comic with Captain America as an ape on the cover. That rocks!

My usuals that have been dropped

Squadron Supreme 2
Don't get me wrong, issue No. 1 was pretty interesting. It's an look at what DC and Marvel characters would be like in an alternate world. But No. 1 didn't interest me enough to drop another $3 for a comic that's just OK.

Batgirl
Same reason as above. It wasn't bad, but I didn't care enough to pick up a second issue.

What I'm planning on picking up next week

Kick-Ass #4
This is simply the best comic out there right now. Period.
New Avengers #44
This has the best tie-in stories to the Secret Invasion books.
Ultimate Spider-Man #125
A model of consistancy. These are always well written.
Wolverine #68
Old-man Logan goes to part three. I'm curious as to what happened to Wolverine that made him a passive sissy.

What I may pick up, but can't decide

Daredevil #110 Monkey variant
It's Daredevil — as a baboon! How can I go wrong?