Comics 1/25/06 (also my birthday)

Another year older. *sigh*

Serenity: Those Left Behind (Dark Horse): A trade paperback collection of the comic book series that bridged part of the gap between the Firefly TV series and the Serenity movie. A must read for fans of either. Special Bonus: It's canon, as it was part written by Joss Whedon himself!

Exiles #76 (Marvel): More reality hopping fun. The team picks up a non-mutant super-hero (Spider-Man 2099). A lot happens, even though not much gets done. But hey - it has Longshot!

Daredevil #81/461 (Marvel): Outgoing creative teams don't usually go out on depressing notes like this. Yet every move feels right. Bendis got his start doing Noir-ish crime comics, and it shows. Bendis will be missed. Hopefully the next creative team can get Daredevil out of this mess (hopefully).

The Pulse #13 (Marvel): Jessica Jones finally has a baby. And Luke Cage does the right thing and proposes. The dialogue is witty and clever. And J. Jonah Jameson deserved everything Jessica Jones told him on the phone while she was giving birth.

Defenders #5 (Marvel): A mildly funny ending to a bizarre limited series. In the end, nothing that happens means much. And I'm not sure what to think of series where male rape is a source of laughter.

Fallen Angel #2 (IDW): Peter David's best work, ever. (I can't say that phrase enough). The theology is a bit shaky, but I can suspend my disbelief enough to make the series work. More about "Lee's" origins, and an old aging Hitler makes out with a young African-American lady: What more could you ask for?
Best bit of dialogue:
Black Mariah: You smell like a distillery. What happened?
Fallen Angel (Lee): Ran into an old . . . associate. He gave me some bad news.
Black Maria: Really. And what would that be?
Fallen Angel: God's forgiven me. How much does that suck?