The "Books That I Read but Never Talk About" Initiative

Hey guys, welcome to another day at chezkevin.

Today I'm not sure what I should have done, but I know that I should be doing it.

Gasp indeed, because, there are several comics that I read that, surprisingly enough, don't get reviewed on the blog. This can be for several reasons; my list, let me show you it:

1. I get the book on a late schedule, so the title isn't exactly relevant for reviews
2. I'm not so familiar with the book so I don't have much authority to review it
3. I don't get every issue of the book and only get the issues that appeal to me
4. I don't really have an opinion on the book
5. some other reason that I can't pull out of a hat that doesn't come to my great, great mind currently.

Some of these titles include: Detective Comics, Nova, Countdown to Mystery, X-Men: First Class, The Batman Strikes!, and Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters.

I wanted to talk about at least one of these books, but, darn ol' indecisive me -- I can't choose!

That's where you come in; there'll be a little poll today. It'll be a little contest between titles, and YOU get to choose.

I'm discounting the bat-books, because everyone generally knows what they're about, so I'm going to talk about the four titles that are left, and you get to decide which one I'll talk about! It's like moving my mouth for me -- except not!

X-Men: First Class
by Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz

This is the X-Men in their original roster, with lighthearted and stand-alone stories. Aimed at kids, this ongoing series features stories that are pretty poignant as well as fun.

Their stories never fail to make you feel good.

Countdown to Mystery
by Steve Gerber, Justiniano, Matt Sturges and Stephen Segovia

Kent V. Nelson, an alcoholic homeless ex-psychiatrist, finds the Helmet of Fate in his hands. Unwillingly, he becomes the new Doctor Fate and battles evil in the magical realm!

There' s also a back-up story in which Eclipso tries to turn everyone evil and the Spectre wants people's souls or something, but I have no clue what's going on there.

The miniseries' writing drifts between occasional black humor to pure doctor babble, as Nelson constantly tries to diagnose himself and battles depression.

Nova
by Daniel Abnett, Andy Lanning and various artists

You've probably heard of Marvel's spaceway event, ANNIHILATION. Well, Nova was its hero. Like Green Lantern, our Nova was a part of the Nova Corps., until the Annihilation Wave wiped out all Nova Centurions except for Richard here.

Now, he's just trying to save the galaxy one threat at a time. The writing in this ongoing series is always fun, and the science fiction aspect excels at challenging our way of thinking.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters
by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Renato Arlem

Follow a quirky group of government-ordered superheroes as they struggle with internal affairs (Phantom Lady cuts herself), external affairs (alien invasion), and all sorts of other wacky stuff, including --

Mechanical bees. My god.

Themes of legacy, privilege, free will and control abound in this miniseries, but don't let that scare you off. It's fantastically steeped in superhero pseudoscience.

So have you come up with a decision? Check out the poll at the right column and do that voodo that you do! Vote!

Now's a good chance to look at a book that you've never looked at before, a good chance to expand your horizons. If you've been thinking about trying any of these books but never got the chance to, here it is!

If you like a particular book and would like to see my own opinions on it, now's a good chance too! Lots of opportunities here, guys.

If we start with X-Men: First Class, then I'll do the eight-issue miniseries first, at which point we'll go to the ongoing. For the rest, we'll just start at issue 1.