TV

Mad Men
5x12 Commissions and Fees
Another incredible episode. Personally I've enjoyed the entire season (as I was saying last time), but it really feels like they're pulling out all the stops towards the end.
Now that I've reached the penultimate episode, I'll also share this spoiler-riddled interview with creator Matthew Weiner, which looks back at the season so far and explains some things. Very interesting stuff for fans, but if you're even further behind than me do beware -- it has huge spoilers for this episode.

Romanzo Criminale
1x07 Episode 7
1x08 Episode 8

Comics

Daredevil #10.1 by Mark Waid & Khoi Pham

Marvel's semi-controversial Point One series reaches Daredevil. It's designed to present potential readers with a standalone jumping-on point and taster of the series, but has been criticised for producing books that are inessential, too essential, or don't actually reflect the regular series very well. You can't win I guess.

This one... well, it's certainly not a one-and-done, being very much the next step in Daredevil's ongoing storyline about a harddrive containing vital information on all five of the Marvel U's biggest criminal organisations. It begins with some new-reader-friendly recaps, but nothing more than you could put in a regular issue -- this is Daredevil #11 in all but name; a regular issue with a number that highlights they've made concessions to allow new readers to begin here. Which I suppose makes sense really, though wouldn't they have been better off playing the "jump on here!" at the end of this big arc?

Other than that, I'm no fan of Pham's art. It just doesn't work for me. The book's regular pair of pencillers had been doing good, if kind of simplistically old-fashioned, stuff all run; Pham seems to be in the same ballpark, but it's kind of rougher in a way that doesn't click for me. Unfortunately he's back in a bit for the pivotal #13.


The Omega Effect
Avenging Spider-Man #6 by Greg Rucka, Mark Waid & Marco Checchetto
The Punisher #10 by Greg Rucka & Marco Checchetto
Daredevil #11 by Mark Waid & Marco Checchetto

A three-part crossover spanning... well, the above books. Despite ending with Daredevil, it's actually the next step in that book's ongoing story, related to the harddrive I was on about above.

It's a proper epic-feeling crossover, justifying the use of three heroes and the (apparent) climax to Daredevil's big plot. Checchetto's art is awesome too, even in spite of some copy-and-pasted panels and an unclear ending to The Punisher issue. Though even he can't make the cheap-'50s-sci-fi-B-movie-style costumes of the criminal organisations look any good. Nonetheless, more from him, please... but I think he's the regular artist on Punisher, so I guess I won't get it. Hey-ho.

For more detail on the thinking behind this crossover, see the two-part pre-event interview with the writers from Marvel.com: first Mark Waid, then Greg Rucka.