Welcome to the first installment of POA's Rapid Fire Reviews. With so many comics being released from week to week, I've been finding it a little tough to cover them all so having a post, written once a week, featuring a bunch of quick reviews seemed like the only solution to the problem. Strap yourselves in and feel free to leave a comment or two with a review of your own!

DC | Wildstorm Dreamwar #1 (DC)
Surely nothing with "Dreamwar" in the title could possibly be bad...could it? That's pretty much what was going through my mind while I decided weather or not I should bother with this one. Written by Keith Giffen and penciled by the team of Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott, Dreamwar is a mediocre crossover with solid artwork that fans who are familiar with Wildstorm could find some enjoyment in. As for those of us who know little of the W.S. characters, myself included, we should probably avoid this one.
POA Rating: - 6.9/10

Young X-Men (Marvel)
Most people have been fairly unkind to Guggenheim's newly assembled team and, to be honest, some of the criticisms are well merited. On the other hand, the comic could have been much worse than it was. The characters, in my opinion, are boring and uninteresting. Their dialog feels forced and unnatural but the level of action as well as the artwork by Paquette is very impressive. Not to mention, I'd hate myself forever if I gave an overly bad rating to a comic with a cover by the Dodsons.
POA Rating: - 6.3/10

Amazing Spider-Man #557 (Marvel)
The final issue in Zeb Wells' run this month manages to close up the few dangling side-plots that had been opened up in the past couple issues. The story also teases at Spider-Man's second encounter with Freak next issue which is presumably going to disappoint. Bachalo's art has grown on me in the past couple issues but still isn't up to the same caliber as some of the others before him. For whatever reason, this issue just fails to evoke much more than a mediocre amount of excitement.
POA Rating: - 7.9/10

Walking Dead Volume 1 TPB (Image)
I was a little late jumping on the Walking Dead bandwagon but, like the old saying goes, better late than never. Volume 1 of the collection introduces the readers to the main characters and sets up the tone of the undead world that the story will be taking place in. Great writing by Kirkman and fantastic dark visuals from Moore help make Walking Dead, arguably, the best zombie comic ever written.
POA Rating: - 8.7/10

Captain Marvel #5 (Marvel)
The final chapter in Brian Reed's Captain Marvel saga is easily the best of the arc by not only revealing Mar-vell's true past but his new place within the Marvel U during Secret Invasion. While I'm not about to go off and spoil the book, his appearance at the end really makes you realize that he's going to have a much larger part to play in Secret Invasion than most people probably believed.
POA Rating: - 8.3/10

Want a copy of Captain Marvel #5? Buy one here!

Rapid Fire Reviews are written and posted every Friday and feature reviews of some of the biggest titles in comics...in as few words as possible! All the review, none of the filler!