New comics 9/27

American Virgin #7 (Steven T. Seagle/Becky Cloonan, DC/Vertigo)
I feel sort of silly buying this every month and then saying, "Uh, I still don't know what it's about and I'm not sure I like it." At this point, I guess I'll buy the next two issues and read until the end of this arc, but I just have no idea what Seagle is going for here, and I obviously wasn't that riveted by the last issue since I had a tough time remembering who some of the characters were. I like the idea of having a religious main character who remains faithful in the face of all sorts of tests, but Seagle is sort of turning him into the sexual-temptation equivalent of Job, and it's getting a little old. At some point he's either going to have to give in to temptation or just walk away from all the seediness, and when that happens, there'll be no more series. I just can't see this premise sustaining a long-term narrative, and maybe that's what's contributing to my waning interest.

Cable & Deadpool #32 (Fabian Nicieza/Staz Johnson, Marvel)
The Civil War crossover wraps up, and even though Nicieza has taken it much more seriously than he did House of M, it still felt like an annoying distraction. I'm getting a little tired of Cable's relentless holier-than-thou grandstanding, and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere new. Civil War affords him the perfect opportunity to lecture about his worldview, and even though it does relate to the story, it's starting to seem a little worn, and it makes the character feel one-dimensional. Deadpool still offers a very entertaining counterpoint, and hopefully the next arc will be something a little lighter so that we can get a break from the philosophizing for a little bit.

Jack of Fables #3 (Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges/Tony Akins, DC/Vertigo)
This series is growing on me, although Jack is still the least interesting character in it. One of the best things about the core Fables series is its sprawling, varied cast, and if Willingham and Sturges can replicate that, then I think this book has potential. I don't think it's going to work confined to the internment camp, though, but since we're already getting an escape attempt in issue three, I hope that means we'll leave it behind soon and maybe Jack will take some of the interesting supporting characters along on his next adventure.

She-Hulk #12 (Dan Slott/Rick Burchett, Marvel)
It's been a while since this book has featured an actual trial, and I was happy for the return of the vagaries of superhuman law. I can see how fans of Starfox and even Thanos may be upset with what Slott's doing here, because it seems like some pretty serious retcons. But I'm not as dedicated to that sort of thing, so I'm more intrigued at the way that Slott is exploring the real implications of mind-control powers to their logical conclusion, and the continued mess that it's all made of She-Hulk's personal life.

Also out this week: Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #3, which continues to be such a bland, pedestrian superhero tale that I won't even bother to comment at length on it. Zeb Wells manages to squander two teams of really interesting characters as well as the entire concept of the crossover, and it's just sad.