Thank god for quiet weeks. I was starting to wonder if Civil War wasn't going to bankrupt me. In this installment of your weekly comics reviews, you can catch up with Tamora Pierce's White Tiger #2, Jonathan Hickman's The Nightly News #2, and Ed Brubaker's Uncanny X-Men #481, all mid-story, all finding me in what might be a surprisingly charitable mood. Do I usually grade this generously?

White Tiger #2

Publisher Marvel • Writers Tamora Pierce/Timothy Liebe • Artist Phil Briones

While the last issue had a solid beginning, this one actually manages to improve things a little. It's a good sign when the second issue is more interesting than the first, that's for sure. While Pierce has a background writing young adult fantasy novels, she does street-level superheroics remarkably well. How much of that is her husband's Liebe's influence, I don't know, but to come into the Marvel Universe fresh and turn out a book like this is no small achievement.

Driving the second issue are some intriguing developments that have made me eager for future issues. It started off as a token buy to see how the character would spin off from the Daredevil series, but at this point I'm genuinely interested in the title itself. It seems that, in what's getting to be a running joke, the man wearing the Daredevil uniform is not Murdock, nor is it Danny Rand, Iron Fist. The heavy implication (ghostly speech bubbles and use of hispanic slang) is that "Daredevil 2.0" is actually the original, and it should be stressed - the late White Tiger. If true, the timeline would place him as Daredevil after Murdock's imprisonment, but before Iron Fist's asumption of the mantle.

In addition to that, a new plot thread falls out of nowhere as it seems that Angela may not need to be physically wearing, or even be near the amulets in order to access their power. Whether this revelation is a one-off plot development or ongoing mystery remains to be seen, but it's good to see the character learning about her powers, since she only just acquired them. Who knows where it could lead?
B+

The Nightly News #2

Publisher Image • Writer Jonathan Hickman • Artist Jonathan Hickman

The previous issue of the Nightly News was one of my favourite comics of the year. I'm finding the second issue a bit harder to get into because it's damn dense work we're looking at here. It's incredibly ambitious stuff and it succeeds entirely, but if you're trying to read it on the tube back home after a hard day's work, well, you can forget about it.

Taking it in at a later time, I found it much easier to enjoy, but - and it's not a criticism - you do have to be prepared to work for this enjoyment. Tackling terrorism, media ethics and cults in western society, Hickman is writing something that's about as bleeding edge as you can possibly get. It looks great, it's fast paced and, all-importantly, the story has me utterly gripped, for indeed, what good would this be without a decent narrative?

Hopefully there'll be a trade of this, because even though it's paced for singles, even now it's obvious that it would benefit from being read as one book. Like I say, there's a lot to deal with in this and the first issue, and that's unlikely to change - while in indie comics, it's a dangerous thing to suggest waiting for a trade that may not be coming, in this case it may be the best way to enjoy the completed story.
A

Uncanny X-Men #481

Publisher Marvel • Writer Ed Brubaker • Artist Billy Tan

It's been a while since I checked in properly with Uncanny, so this seems like a good point as Brubaker's opening 12-issue arc begins it's second half.

Now, call me weird, but I found the opening scene hilarious. Lilandra, who as any schoolboy knows, is the current Empress of the Shi'ar empire (remember your Phoenix Saga, kids.) As she discusses returning to duty following her near-fatal mental injuries at the hand of Cassandra Nova during the Morrison Era, she is promptly pistol-whipped by the latest in a long line of treasonous viziers. Since this is about the fiftieth time this has happened, you kind of wonder if she wouldn't expect it by now.

The real meat of the issue comes from the material between Rachel Summers and Korvus, the latter just about managing to be the worst new character of the year, edging out Vulcan only on the grounds that his hairstyle is taken from Dragonball Z and his sword is riduclously large (and possible Vulcan first appeared in 2005. Let's not get facts get in the way of a good insult - the point is, they're both terrible.) Their meeting, however, is at least pretty good. The Blade of the Phoenix is a pretty stock concept, but its backstory makes it quite intriguing because it mentions Phoenix hosts prior to Jean, which is a relatively unexplored concept. Rachel's attraction to this guy also gives her some of the first decent character material I've ever seen.

So, all in all, it could be worse. It's probably never getting as good as when Morrison was on the case, but any fan of the characters can be assured, from one to another, the X-Men franchise appears to be in capable hands.
B+

Stan Lee Meets The Silver Surfer - Lee/Jenkins/Wieringo/Buckingham
Ooh, good save. Just as the concept was dancing on the edge of being 4 issues of rehash, Stan switches the joke for the final issue. In this one, Galactus summons Lee to try and convince him to get the Silver Surfer to speak less pretentiously. Stan's love of writing the Surfer's dialogue is well-documented, and he clearly had an utter riot with this one. "They're shooting stuff at us!" "Then my space-born wisdom tells me that they are hostile!" Utterly great. The second story by Jenkins seems a little, er, self-indulgent, as if he got a good taste for being in comics after New Avengers and decided to write himself in again. I see what he's trying to do and say, but it seems to read a bit close to "hey guys! The Sentry is as good as anything Lee did!" rather than the presumably intended zone of "See how Lee's creations inspired the Sentry!" - The final reprint is an excellent Lee/Buscema Silver Surfer issue that has a gratuitous Spider-Man appearance. Hard to complain, though.
A