Today is day 13 of 13 days working in a row. Oh, how I doth long for thee, seven pee em! Let's clear the plate for this week, so I can meet the next with joy and not weariness!

ARCHER & ARMSTRONG (NEW) #1: While I enjoyed this new take (and I say this as, largely, a liberal), I honestly hope that future issues are a little more balanced, politically speaking. I mean, yes, the idea of a cult wearing bull and bear masks calling themselves "The 1%" is kind of amusing, as is the idea of a cult of assassins HQed in a Christian Theme Park where animatronic dinos and cavemen frolic together -- but it did make things feel less like a story, and more like a polemic. But, I did find this first issue entertaining enough to come back for next issue which is better than I can say for so many comics... GOOD.

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #6: I read this on Tuesday night, then looked at it again blankly on Wednesday morning, because I had forgotten that I had. Even after that, I can barely recall it. Guardians of the Galaxy, travelling in space, banter banter banter, Thanos shows up at the last page, the end. This book has been completely lifeless all the way along, feeling, I guess, as a way to "capitalize on the film" rather than to be a passion project for anyone involved. Joyless comics are never good comics. AWFUL.

BATMAN #12: I really liked the Becky Cloonan portions of the book (though some of Snyder's script was wooden on the page -- that whole scene with the gang, "Hey. let's see who swells up first!", ugh), but that sudden change on the last 7 pages to Andy Clarke... well, damn, those two styles just aren't compatible at all.I loved that Rich Johnston tried to spin that switch as being on purpose ("A switch to the superhero POV" or some silliness, belied by last three pages though), but, yeah, I thought this was a sweet issue, with a much needed different tone than The Owl Show the book has been for a while. But I just want to state for the record that the last thing this comic needs is another "Harold"-style supporting player who gets ignored a whole lot. Or, god, another Robin. But, that's the future, in the now I thought this issue was (on the balance) VERY GOOD.

GAMBIT #1: There's a kind of mental sigh that comes when you're talking about a comic like Gambit -- basically, no matter who does the book, or how much wit and verve they could theoretically bring to bear to the creation of it, at the end of the day it is, still, about Gambit. It will, if they're lucky, last a single year (which thanks to MarvelMath(TM), could now be up to #18), but it's more likely to be selling at cancellation levels before issue #6. James Asmus and Clay Mann do the best they can reformatting Remy to a more Bond-like-but-with-superpowers Adventure Caper (or, maybe, Mission: Impossible, without a supporting cast [Movie M:I, I guess, rather than TV]), and it really really is a noble stab. But, end-of-the-day? It's, still, about Gambit. Which really makes it EH.

GODZILLA HALF CENTURY WAR #1 (OF 5): Boi-oi-oi-oi-oing! Wow, Swellsville, as James Stokoe, and his detail-oriented style takes on a soldier who has been fighting the big G for 50 years, starting from the original film. This is a pretty impressive Godzilla, and I was especially taken by the first double-page spread where Stokoe renders the sound of G's famous bellow halfway as a design element and halfway as an onomatopoeia and halfway as a, dunno, a sigil, maybe. It was the most thrilling translation of something that's screen-only that I think I've ever seen. Give the man an Eisner nominee for lettering just for this one, Judges! Terrific stuff, and I never ever ever thought I'd be saying this about a Godzilla comic book: VERY GOOD.

IT GIRL & THE ATOMICS #1: Struggling what to say about this one, but I think this might be it: Trying Too Hard To Be Cute. EH.

Only six books? Lazy bitch! But that's where I am this week.

As always, what did YOU think?

-B