There's just far too many comics to review all of them this week. 14 of them, thanks to Marvel's poor/genius scheduling. Instead you get one book from each of the Big Two.

Detective Comics #854

My only brush with Greg Rucka came through his work on 52. Where he put a lot of work into the entwined stories of  Batwoman and The Question. So I guess it's only fitting that I get reacquainted with his work through a book that stars those two characters. Yes I'm aware they had their own post-52 miniseries, but I didn't read that as, to me , that particular story seemed to have been played out in the pages of 52 already.

At first glance the Kate Kane in this book seems vastly different than that one who appeared in 52. She's less a socialite and more of an army brat. She's got tattoos and it's implied she sleeps (or slept) around. Yes, she's still a lesbian, and yes it comes up but only in a way to flesh out her "committed to the mission" mindset.

Before this book, id you'd asked me to point out art by JH Williams I woul'dve had no chance. Would not know him from a bar of soap. After reading this book I have every panel burnt out to my brian. In a good way of course. And the panel layout. Wow. There's one two page sequence depicting that I loved. A series of lightning bolt panels depicts Batwoman talking to Batman then heading back to base and changing back into civillian clothes, underscored by a shot of Batwoman, on her motorcycle, shooting across the page.

There's this incredible amount of energy that crackles off every page.

Meanwhile over in the Question backup...sorry "co-feature", Renee Montoya seems to have become DC's answer to the Heroes for Hire. Using an email account and/or website to solicit investigative work. Her first case pitting her against human traffickers.

It reads like it was originally pitched as a full length story that's been slimmed down through precise cuts. Nothing is missing really, but there's no great explanation of the bad guy possible motives, just that he's the damn bad guy.

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1

After the letdown of an event that was Brian Michael Bendis' Secret Invasion I harboured a feeling that, given half a chance, Matt Fraction could easy write the next Marvel event. And here it is.

I'm glad it's not a company-wide thing as I really couldn't handle another one of those from Marvel. But it does carry the Dark Reign tag, which I cna't really get enthused about. Even though most of the Marvel side of my pull list involves Dark Reign in some way.

The story seems organic enough. At the end of Secret Invasion, when Norman Osbourne was given the job of...well whatever the hell it is he actually does, he put all mutants on notice. Telling Emma Frost that if they couldn't control themselves then he would. Or words to that effect.

In this first issue of the indeterminately long miniseries (there's no "#1 of #3" on the cover, just "Chapter One") Simon Trask organises a march on San Fransisco in support of a new law to sterilise all mutants, which of course leads to all hell breaking loose. Really, nobody watched the first 10 minutes of Die Hard 3?

With half of San Fransisco on fire Norman Osbourne makes good on his promise and sends in the Dark Avengers to control things. Which of course they don't because they're all psychopaths. Then Norman takes Emma Frost aside reitterates whats he first told her and then promotes her to Leader of All Mutants. Charles Xavier shows up to talk down Cyclops, but it's revealed to the  reader that the real Charles Xavier is lying in a prison cell with his brain leaking down his shirt. None of which makes a whole lot of a sense.

But, this is only the first issue, and I've got enough faith that Fraction will spin out a few interesting concepts before bringing everything to a decent conclusion.

Of  course Marvel get full praise for keeping Greg Land as far from this story as possible. Marc Silvestri handles the art in a passable fashion. It's a lot more basic than his linework from back when Grant Morrison wrote the book, with most of the humans looking like scarecrows. And a small but significant drawing of a continuity-breaking, male Loki.

Complete List

Detective Comics #854
Green Lantern #42
Astonishing X-Men #30
Avengers: Initiative #25
Dark Avengers #6
Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1
Immortal Iron Fist TP Vol 04 Mortal Iron Fist
Ms Marvel #40
New Avengers #54
Runaways 3 #11
Secret Warriors #5
Thunderbolts #133
Uncanny X-Men #512
X-Factor #45
X-Force #16
Wizard Magazine #214

Last week I tried to shake things up a bit by reviewing every comic picked up. While it was an interesting experiment I didn't quite  get the response I was after, so we're back to the three book deal this week.

Power Girl #2

It seems a little too soon to use the second issue as an exposition tool and drawn out origin for the bad guy. Sure, it goes against convention, but you know what? I didn't mind it. Because the rest of the issue was devoted to Power Girl taking on an albino gorilla with a superhuman brain. I could read that kind of thing forever.

Incognito #4

Still good. Still very good in fact. But it feel like the 2 month gap between issues #3 and #4 killed the momentum somewhat. This issue is pretty much entirely fallout. Zack is discovered, interrogated by the SOS, a government agency tasked with taking down rogue superpowers. (Which I guess in a way makes it the CIA of Incognito) and put back on the streets sans powers. The improbably named Ava Destruction throws a wrench into the whole idea of the bad guys coming for Zack's blood. The pulpy elements are still there, but the noirish tones have really started coming to the fore.

Mighty Avengers #26

I was all but ready to give this up after last month's issue. It's pretty easy to bag the book with it's slow pacing and characters don't do a hell of a lot - except for Hercules, who may just be the funniest character in the Marvel stable.

But then you get an issue like this  with crazy Warren Ellis-style Zeno Rooms, sonic screwdrivers and scientific equations that take philosophy  into consideration.

It's still dangerously close to being dropped, but if Dan Slott can keep loading the book with off the wall science stuff and improve character interaction then it'll keep it's spot on the pull list for now.

Complete List

Ex Machina #43
Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #2 (of 6)
Power Girl #2
Cable #15
Incognito #4
Mighty Avengers #26
X-Men: Legacy #225
Angel #22

With the metric ton of of video game announcements and showings at this year's E3  it was pretty difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff. But I've managed to whittle down a list of favourites to the following titles:

Modern Warfare 2

This is the the sixth in the Call of Duty series, but for some bizarre reason (probably related to the terrible, odd-numbered CoD games) they've dropped the CoD prefix.

Strangely enough what I'm most excited about in Modern Warfare 2 is the ice climbing. Finally a gaming mechanic that's not completely tapped out.

From the gameplay video below it looks like Modern Warfare 2 is building on the quality set by it's predecessor. And it's good to see Soap still kicking around.

The Last Guardian

ICO and Shadow of the Collossus are two of the most memorable games I've ever played. ICO for the emotional resonance with ICO and Yorda; and Shadow of the Collossus for having me make the hardest decision ever - choose between falling into a crushing depression by killing the enormous, but benevalent Collossi or put the game away and miss out on the gaming experience of the decade. I haven't opened that damn case in two years.

While I really want to play this game. I'm in complete agreement with the Penny Arcade guys. There really is only two ways that this game can end. I don't think I can handle either of them.

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Brütal Legend

I'd been following the development of Brütal Legend for quite a while, so this year's E3 footage held no real surprises for me. What it did do is reaffirm just how much I'm looking forward to playing the shit out of it come October.

Jack Black, rock and roll, left of field comedics and wacky adventuring. What could possibly go wrong?

Assassin's Creed 2

I've only just started playing the first game but the possibility of more medieval killing sprees has me crazy excited.

The addition of double assassinations, swimming(!) and that flying machine from Hudson Hawk is just icing on a very sharp and pointy cake.

Booster Gold #21

This issue of Booster Gold is the first DC books to showcase their new backup story concept, or "co-features" as they've decided to call them. A way to keep minor, but loyally followed characters that can't support their own book on the shelves.

If this little 10-page story, about Blue Beetle beating up a giant robot called THINKO! for 3 hours, is any indication then the recently cancelled ongoing series must've been an absolute gem to read.

Flash: Rebirth #3 (of 6)

I'm not sure I understand the point of this series. Green Lantern: Rebirth was fairly straight forward: "Hal Jordan died a villain, so lets bring him back to life in a way that reaffirms his hero status. "

But what about Barry Allen? He died a hero, saving the universe from the big bad at the time only to pop up in Final Crisis as the universe's attempt to cure itself of Darkseid (no, really!)  There had to be an incredibly good reason to keep him around after that, past editorial whim.

Even with the patented Geoff John's villain reveal page at the end of this issue I'm still at a loss as to why this series exists.

Green Lantern Corps #37

When I showed this cover to Ange her immediate reaction was "Oh yuck." I couldn't have said it better myself. It's a horrible drawing of Arisia.

Watching the Daxamites freak the hell out when their superpowers kicked in went a ways to making up for the terrible cover.

Uncanny X-Men #511

Look, I wouldn't go so far as to say Greg Land is ruining Uncanny, but when every character is posed like a model and either smiling or laughing or making a "porn face" regardless of whats happening around them then the art becomes at best, panel filler or at worst, utterly detrimental to the story.

I'm sure the script for this page went something like:

STORM floats at the window as a gust of wind BLOWS past her EXPLODING the glass into a million fragments that BLAST into the MASTERMIND SISTERS sending them reeling.

While Land had done an neat trick by having the pieces of glass appear outisde the panel walls, they don't seems to convey any direction of movement. Ther are far worse examples of his stilted style, but I'll do you a favour and spare you the burden of looking at them.

You can imagine how happy I am that next issue doesn't seem to have been touched by Land at all. I'm even happier that it's centered around Beast and his X-Club. One of the better ideas to come out of Fraction's plan for Uncanny X-Men.

X-Factor #44

Another solid issue from Peter David. It's been said that X-Factor is the best X-title being put out by Marvel at the moment. I couldn't agree more.

And now, some 4 months late, my final throughts on my 365 Day Project.

At the very end of my project there was only really twopossible  outcomes:

1. I could've used the skills learned over the year to launch a semi-successful photography business; or
2. come away cursing the invention of the camera and swearing never again to step in front of the lens.

The delay from crossing the finish line to getting this post up should give you an indication as to where I ended up.

That's not to say that I didn't totally enjoy my year of living photographically, and I did, for the most part.

In hindsight there's a few things I could've done better to make the whole process smoother.

20/20 Hindsight and all that stuff

I first heard about the 365 project around the middle of 2007. Mike, Chris and Richard had started posting a photo a day in what I originally thought was a small localised group on Flickr. When I realised just how much of the Flickr community it encompassed, I knew I had to be a part of it. And with my 29th birthday coming up I had the perfect hook (although in hindsight, not the most optimistic): the last days of my youth.

Knowing just how terrible I am at keeping to deadlines I wrote down a fairly comprehensive list of  shots to take. Thinking that if I had a particularly uncreative day I could just fall back on that list.

That plan worked well right up until I lost the list. Somewhere  around day 30 or so I think. Not the best start to a year long project by any stretch.

Contrary to any belief  you may hold, I've never been that comfortable stepping in front of a camera. Combining that with my habit of being easily distracted meant that the each daily shot had to be planned well ahead of time. And we know what happens when I try to plan something.

Equipment

Except for a few stray shots I primarily used my Canon 350D with the fixed 50mm lens. Set to Aperture Priority (Av) at an F-stop of 1.8.

If you're relatively knowledgeable  in the ways of cameras then you're probably cringing right now.

For everyone else, what I did was take 300 odds shots with a depth of field so tight even the slightest miscalculation meant my giant head would've been out of focus. So that's why a bunch of the shots are out of focus.

Lighting was a big issue as well. Living in a house designed to block out direct sunlight and completely lacking in any real photographic lighting I struggled to get photos with less than a second of exposure. For a few months I made do with the harsh yellow light of my desk lamp, but when it died I was shit out of luck.

Would I ever do something like this again?

If you'd asked me that straight after the project it would have been an emffatic no. Forcing myself to take self-portraits every day for a year just confirmed that I have a great distaste for taking self-portraits. However, I wouldn't be completely closed to the idea of taking a year's worth of photos featuring anything but me.