SECRET AVENGERS #1 – Brubaker & Deodato show up with a first issue that does everything it’s supposed to, start off with a bang, introduce us to our cast, provide a basic set-up, then throw a couple of kinks in before cutting to a Shocking Cliffhanger (which really, really should have been on a left page, that’s just basic). Deodato’s Beast is immaculately rendered. I’m curious how much longer Brubaker’s staying on Cap’s main title, if he and Steve are bailing on that and coming over here, I can definitely see adding this. Then again, if the $4 cover price sticks and the page count jumps back down from 28 to 22 next month, this might be a secret that Marvel gets to keep.
X-FORCE #27 – Great opening, no dialogue until the bottom of the tenth page. Now that’s a fight scene! Surpassed, however, by that crushing final page. What a last line. Ominous, given that this volume and incarnation of the team only has one more issue to go. But then again, it’s not like Logan’s not going to hitch a ride back somehow, so I guess anything’s possible. It would be out of character and very ballsy if Cable, Archangel, Domino, X-23 et al did not in fact make it back.
WAR OF THE SUPERMAN #4 – Ah, an art jam issue. Too bad that Barrows is drawing circles around these guys, more than a bit jarring. And it defuses tension. Soooo, the big yield of this entire year’s worth of Superman books is that there might now be a few Kryptonians holed up somewhere on Earth? And Lois’s daddy offed himself? (who came first, Gen. Lane or Gen. “Thunderbolt” Ross? Because one of those guys is a serious rip-off). That’s it? Mm, I don’t feel bad about picking up these four issues, but I’m glad I sat out the last little bit here. Looking forward to seeing where JMS and Cornell take it.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #2 – An entertaining ride as the plot thickens. Bennett’s art is a bit of a dip from Lopresti’s fine work last issue, but if Keith Giffen is plotting and doing breakdowns for these characters, really no way I can’t be there. Shouldn’t Captain Atom get kicked forward in time if he absorbs too much energy? Thought that was pretty much the deal.
GREEN LANTERN #54 – Atrocitus is starting to crack me up, between visualizing a Mera construct and letting the love work its way into his heart. There’s nothing really wrong with this issue (I’m either getting more acclimated to Mahnke’s new style or he’s getting better at it), but I guess I’m coming down with a touch of the old event fatigue. Can’t believe we went straight from the culmination of five years’ worth of Johns’s work on this title and right on into the Next Big Thing, which you’ve got to also buy a bi-weekly title if you want the story (the scene from the top of this issue being a direct lateral from BRIGHTEST DAY #0). I kind of just wanted Hal to take Carol out to dinner for an issue and see what happens when they drink too much wine. And THEN Lobo smashes in! Yeah, that would be all right. But no, we’re right back to running up and down the color spectrum with some more entities that are the embodiment of something or other.
FANTASTIC FOUR #579 – Now, THIS is how you do a fill-in. I was less than impressed with Neil Edwards when he showed up to pinch-hit for both Hitch (a thankless gig, to be certain) and, just a very few months later, Eaglesham. Don’t know if he had more time to spend on these pages or the script just spoke to him or what, but he does a great job here. That head shot at the end of Reed’s speech is beautiful, he nails the faraway look in Reed’s eyes. Explorer, first! I’m really loving the long game Hickman is playing, setting up all these kids for Reed to mentor. Between Alex Power in this book, Fraction dusting Madison Jeffries off for the X-Club, and the JLI coming out of retirement, all of my favorite 80s characters are getting more than their share of attention. This issue is really just a laundry list of little bits I loved: Reed’s line to Alex about the perfect SAT score, Alex’s reply indicating he totally doesn’t get it even though he aced the test, that shot of Spider-Man swinging through the air with the greatest of ease (because why not? if you’re doing an NYC establishing shot), the moloids diving into “King Lear” the day they teach themselves how to read, the insane double-pg Nu-World recap (“thereby achieving for the first time in human history the thought-to-be fictional socialist state” I mean, really!), Franklin vs. Artie & Leech, and Reed resigning from his society of futurists and holding the inaugural session of his new class. Reed as teacher for the next generation is just such a good fit. Love love love this book.
BEST OF WEEK: BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #2 – Morrison and Irving do it just a little bit better, though. Didn’t realize that this book was bi-weekly, a nice surprise to find on the rack. The KLARION team couldn’t ask for a more thematically appropriate reunion than this tale of Bruce Wayne hanging out in the days of Puritan witch-hunts. Morrison does such a fine job of crafting a story that seems to organically grow from this title’s central premise, What would happen if Batman was in Year ____ with no memory but the same personality? That’s all well and good, but the real meat of this issue is what goes down at the end of time between the guys tracking Bruce and that biorganic archivist. The two pages when they talk about space a and plane time and cube time are some of my favorites ever, the “superstring on a mighty fretboard” line being what puts them over the edge. The idea of Darkseid boobytrapping Batman at the end of FINAL CRISIS is genius. And next issue, pirates! Plus, our heroes, marooned at the end of time and trapped in the universal heat death that is the unstoppable conclusion of the thermodynamic process! And pirates!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
5/19/10
AVENGERS #1 – Oh. Bendis has just been fucking with us for the past seven years. He knows exactly how to break and script a story that feels just like classic Avengers, he just wanted to do his own thing first. I never imagined that the entire NEW AVENGERS run would basically amount to a tangent that, now fully explored, can just be folded back into what the naysayers think of as canon. All of which to say, all of a sudden this book feels like I think it’s supposed to: the most important book that Marvel is publishing, the one starring your favorite characters in which anything can and will happen. JRjr turns in strong work, as well, I swear that guy’s been peaking for coming up on a decade now. I bought most of NEW AVENGERS but bailed when they hiked the price and I realized the single installments weren’t really doing it for me, but man, I really loved everything about this one. Great hook in the opening scene, followed by hilarity when Thor clocks Kang rather than wait for him to utter his Doc Brown warning. I guess paying $4 a pop for this book makes me part of the problem, but it’s simply worth it.
THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #26 – Fraction/Larroca/D’Armata move Tony a few paces further into his non-weapon-mongering heroic age. Another solid issue from what’s turning out to be one of the most consistent team in the monthly periodicals department. Not too much stands out about this issue, it’s just quality work. Of course, now Robert Downey, Jr. is reading Tony’s lines in my head now, but damn it, he sells them!
ATLAS #1 – Retailers should have a copy of that first page torn out and sitting next to the register. Seriously, show that roll call/premise to anyone and if they don’t say, Yes, please, then you know, maybe they’re not really in the right kind of store. This is why I buy the comics. Parker makes an interesting decision to bring back some old character most folks haven’t heard of for this first issue, looks like he’ll be using him as our POV gateway character (not unlike Rogue in that first Singer flick, say)(and just now wondering if TRUE BLOOD has retroactively ruined all those scenes for me, certainly hope not, but just thinking about them now, not the best taste in my mouth)(“Suckie!”). But the story is well crafted enough, we don’t really mind that the eponymous team is barely even in the book. Hope this relaunch sticks, glad Marvel didn’t give up on this book.
These first three taken together are a serious blast of fresh air and even seem to feed off of each other, subsequent issues heightening the buzz from what came before (not unlike the Lone Stars consumed while reading them) and did about as much as a single week’s worth of books could to wipe away the cynicism I’ve felt toward the bulk of old #1s output for some time now.
X-FACTOR #205 – Oh, Peter David, bring back YOUR recap pages! Before your little girl’s in high school, for God’s sake, I don’t want to miss all the magical moments! As for the story, PAD is a champ for incorporating yet another event into his milieu, but I’ll be glad to get back to this book dealing with just it’s own unfolding soap opera without having to contend with four other books crashing in once or twice a year.
So ends the Marvel portion of the program.
WAR OF THE SUPERMEN #3 – This one was a bit of a dip from last week. If only because there’s really not too many places you can go after turning Earth’s sun red for a cliffhanger. Most of this issue is dedicated to reversing that, which kind of makes you feel like it was a waste of time (though certainly an effective place to leave us last week). The names CAFU and BIT on the cover puzzled me, but I was so glad to see my old friend BLOND (the adjective) from ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR. I think all these people are from the future. Or maybe just another country? At any rate, their work is serviceable but a bit of a dip from the guy last week (Dagarin, maybe?) who was himself a pretty serious hop down from Eddy Barrows, who killed #0 and #1. If this was like a six-part event, I might have jumped off after this issue, but will pick up the last one next week to see how it all shakes down.
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1 – Levitz Returns! And the man simply annihilates me with the amount of craft that goes into this script. I mean, the elegance with which he introduces such a huge ensemble and all these disparate plot points. I’ve never made the comparison between writing and massaging before, but that’s the first thing that popped into my head while reading this, the way he kneads just the right beats out of every page at the right moment. The man has a deft touch. Love what he did with Earthman, what an effective way to run with Geoff Johns’s villain. This is fantastic work and I hope that this is the version that finally, at long last, catches on with all the kids down at the playground.
BRIGHTEST DAY #2 – It’s hilarious and a bit tonally confusing to have the patented Johns Gore still a part of the program. I mean, that scene with the housewife taking out her family fits right in with Pantha’s arm getting torn off or BLACKEST NIGHT, it’s presence here doesn’t make sense to me. I do like to imagine that she’s saying “JOHNSSSSSSSSSSSS” in that last panel, though.
Don’t know what the light source in Erdel’s grave is supposed to be. Also, shouldn’t maybe J’onn have been on the cover? Aquaman was in a grand total of one panel this week without dialogue.
Killer final splash, though. Reis!
JLA #45 – You know, it’s kind of funny, when Bendis launched NEW AVENGERS, the pitch was that they should kind of be the JLA of the Marvel Universe, the varsity squad, as opposed to the colorful ensemble that had comprised the Avengers for the past 40 years. Now, it feels like this book is slowly shifting toward that classic Avengers paradigm, certainly not the A-team of the DC Universe, but a group of heavy hitters who can hold their own and whose interaction is at least as important as whoever they’re fighting. It’s not bad, and Bagley’s still doing great work, but something about this isn’t gelling for me the way that I want it to. If they don’t roll off that $4 tag, I might have to drop it.
AMERICAN VAMPIRE #3 – Man, those American vampires are attack! Funny how, in this medium, that basically translates to them being Wolverine with fangs. Albuquerque continues to dominate here, his style clearly conveying the story while contributing character development just from the way they’re drawn. Snyder’s no slouch, but I love how over the top King’s lines are. “I DIDN’T COME BACK FROM THE GRAVE JUST TO STARVE IN A CANDY STORE!” is certainly a combination of words that has never been uttered, by a vampire wearing only cowboy boots, no less. Though the line about payback was possibly too much of a groaner even for me. Mitigated by Skinner’s use of the verb “palaver” on Page 11, forever Roland’s. It will be a shame when King’s tale is told, but I think I’ll be sticking around, even so.
DC: LEGACIES #1 – Okay, yes, Len Wein basically scooped up the MARVELS premise and subbed young hoods for Phil Sheldon (or, really, it’s just as much an ASTRO CITY swipe. Definitely Busiek country, though). But it’s probably the best script of his I’ve read in years, and the Kuberts show up and knock it clean out of the park. Don’t guess I’ve seen any of Andy’s work since his career-best on the Gaiman Batman two-parter last year, but he carries that immersive style over onto this project. And it only helps the cause to have his living legend father on inks. This story isn’t setting the industry on fire, but it’s top-drawer work all around. The eight-page backup with J.G. Jones feels a little bit pointless, but Jones draws the hell out of it, as ever. I’ll probably keep picking this one up, depending on who’s drawing it.
EX MACHINA #49 – Too bad they couldn’t have #50 ready for finale week here in May, but I don’t mind waiting. Tony Harris’s style has evolved so much since #1, never mind going back and looking at those early issues of STARMAN. My God, the layout of Page 6, the Superman “Changing” moment, perfection, all of a sudden maybe the best page of the entire series. Which I suppose is a good thing to be happening in your penultimate issue. I really do wish they wouldn’t have put that follow-up splash on Page 8 opposite an ad, it really really killed the effect. And such a huge moment in the series. The trade-waiters win again!
“The island that is not” is clearly going to freak out fans of Vaughan’s other huge gig, regardless of the fact that he took off here in the home stretch.
This issue is the last one of the arc and seems to wrap up a great deal. Only we know from the first pages of the series that things are in a much worse place than this, so I guess the shit’s going to hit the fan next month? (or whenever #50 finally drops)
It’s been quite a ride, hope I can find time to hit all 49 issues in a few sittings before the final curtain comes down.
****
BEST OF WEEK: JOE THE BARBARIAN #5 – Morrison and Murphy and Stewart and Klein maintain their ability to perfectly straddle the line, giving us plenty of GoshWow in the glider escape and subsequent aerial battle while managing to keep the more fantastic elements grounded in the reality of the stark danger in which Joe finds himself, with a wild dog attack resulting in a substantial alteration to the status quo of this story as we head into the back half, here. To say nothing of the looming hypoglycemic shock. I could have stood an issue’s worth of Smoot and Zyxy actually flying around with Joe and Jack, getting just a little taste of that team dynamic, was looking forward to that all month, but I guess there’s no time for such things. This is nothing but gorgeous comics, folks. Morrison holds out the heart of wondrous imagination then suckerpunches you with blasts of hard reality. This Sean Murphy fella is hurling thunderbolts and shows no signs of letting up. Dave Stewart and Todd Klein continue to display the industry gold standard. Beautiful, beautiful work, and I have a feeling it’s only going to get better.
THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #26 – Fraction/Larroca/D’Armata move Tony a few paces further into his non-weapon-mongering heroic age. Another solid issue from what’s turning out to be one of the most consistent team in the monthly periodicals department. Not too much stands out about this issue, it’s just quality work. Of course, now Robert Downey, Jr. is reading Tony’s lines in my head now, but damn it, he sells them!
ATLAS #1 – Retailers should have a copy of that first page torn out and sitting next to the register. Seriously, show that roll call/premise to anyone and if they don’t say, Yes, please, then you know, maybe they’re not really in the right kind of store. This is why I buy the comics. Parker makes an interesting decision to bring back some old character most folks haven’t heard of for this first issue, looks like he’ll be using him as our POV gateway character (not unlike Rogue in that first Singer flick, say)(and just now wondering if TRUE BLOOD has retroactively ruined all those scenes for me, certainly hope not, but just thinking about them now, not the best taste in my mouth)(“Suckie!”). But the story is well crafted enough, we don’t really mind that the eponymous team is barely even in the book. Hope this relaunch sticks, glad Marvel didn’t give up on this book.
These first three taken together are a serious blast of fresh air and even seem to feed off of each other, subsequent issues heightening the buzz from what came before (not unlike the Lone Stars consumed while reading them) and did about as much as a single week’s worth of books could to wipe away the cynicism I’ve felt toward the bulk of old #1s output for some time now.
X-FACTOR #205 – Oh, Peter David, bring back YOUR recap pages! Before your little girl’s in high school, for God’s sake, I don’t want to miss all the magical moments! As for the story, PAD is a champ for incorporating yet another event into his milieu, but I’ll be glad to get back to this book dealing with just it’s own unfolding soap opera without having to contend with four other books crashing in once or twice a year.
So ends the Marvel portion of the program.
WAR OF THE SUPERMEN #3 – This one was a bit of a dip from last week. If only because there’s really not too many places you can go after turning Earth’s sun red for a cliffhanger. Most of this issue is dedicated to reversing that, which kind of makes you feel like it was a waste of time (though certainly an effective place to leave us last week). The names CAFU and BIT on the cover puzzled me, but I was so glad to see my old friend BLOND (the adjective) from ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR. I think all these people are from the future. Or maybe just another country? At any rate, their work is serviceable but a bit of a dip from the guy last week (Dagarin, maybe?) who was himself a pretty serious hop down from Eddy Barrows, who killed #0 and #1. If this was like a six-part event, I might have jumped off after this issue, but will pick up the last one next week to see how it all shakes down.
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1 – Levitz Returns! And the man simply annihilates me with the amount of craft that goes into this script. I mean, the elegance with which he introduces such a huge ensemble and all these disparate plot points. I’ve never made the comparison between writing and massaging before, but that’s the first thing that popped into my head while reading this, the way he kneads just the right beats out of every page at the right moment. The man has a deft touch. Love what he did with Earthman, what an effective way to run with Geoff Johns’s villain. This is fantastic work and I hope that this is the version that finally, at long last, catches on with all the kids down at the playground.
BRIGHTEST DAY #2 – It’s hilarious and a bit tonally confusing to have the patented Johns Gore still a part of the program. I mean, that scene with the housewife taking out her family fits right in with Pantha’s arm getting torn off or BLACKEST NIGHT, it’s presence here doesn’t make sense to me. I do like to imagine that she’s saying “JOHNSSSSSSSSSSSS” in that last panel, though.
Don’t know what the light source in Erdel’s grave is supposed to be. Also, shouldn’t maybe J’onn have been on the cover? Aquaman was in a grand total of one panel this week without dialogue.
Killer final splash, though. Reis!
JLA #45 – You know, it’s kind of funny, when Bendis launched NEW AVENGERS, the pitch was that they should kind of be the JLA of the Marvel Universe, the varsity squad, as opposed to the colorful ensemble that had comprised the Avengers for the past 40 years. Now, it feels like this book is slowly shifting toward that classic Avengers paradigm, certainly not the A-team of the DC Universe, but a group of heavy hitters who can hold their own and whose interaction is at least as important as whoever they’re fighting. It’s not bad, and Bagley’s still doing great work, but something about this isn’t gelling for me the way that I want it to. If they don’t roll off that $4 tag, I might have to drop it.
AMERICAN VAMPIRE #3 – Man, those American vampires are attack! Funny how, in this medium, that basically translates to them being Wolverine with fangs. Albuquerque continues to dominate here, his style clearly conveying the story while contributing character development just from the way they’re drawn. Snyder’s no slouch, but I love how over the top King’s lines are. “I DIDN’T COME BACK FROM THE GRAVE JUST TO STARVE IN A CANDY STORE!” is certainly a combination of words that has never been uttered, by a vampire wearing only cowboy boots, no less. Though the line about payback was possibly too much of a groaner even for me. Mitigated by Skinner’s use of the verb “palaver” on Page 11, forever Roland’s. It will be a shame when King’s tale is told, but I think I’ll be sticking around, even so.
DC: LEGACIES #1 – Okay, yes, Len Wein basically scooped up the MARVELS premise and subbed young hoods for Phil Sheldon (or, really, it’s just as much an ASTRO CITY swipe. Definitely Busiek country, though). But it’s probably the best script of his I’ve read in years, and the Kuberts show up and knock it clean out of the park. Don’t guess I’ve seen any of Andy’s work since his career-best on the Gaiman Batman two-parter last year, but he carries that immersive style over onto this project. And it only helps the cause to have his living legend father on inks. This story isn’t setting the industry on fire, but it’s top-drawer work all around. The eight-page backup with J.G. Jones feels a little bit pointless, but Jones draws the hell out of it, as ever. I’ll probably keep picking this one up, depending on who’s drawing it.
EX MACHINA #49 – Too bad they couldn’t have #50 ready for finale week here in May, but I don’t mind waiting. Tony Harris’s style has evolved so much since #1, never mind going back and looking at those early issues of STARMAN. My God, the layout of Page 6, the Superman “Changing” moment, perfection, all of a sudden maybe the best page of the entire series. Which I suppose is a good thing to be happening in your penultimate issue. I really do wish they wouldn’t have put that follow-up splash on Page 8 opposite an ad, it really really killed the effect. And such a huge moment in the series. The trade-waiters win again!
“The island that is not” is clearly going to freak out fans of Vaughan’s other huge gig, regardless of the fact that he took off here in the home stretch.
This issue is the last one of the arc and seems to wrap up a great deal. Only we know from the first pages of the series that things are in a much worse place than this, so I guess the shit’s going to hit the fan next month? (or whenever #50 finally drops)
It’s been quite a ride, hope I can find time to hit all 49 issues in a few sittings before the final curtain comes down.
****
BEST OF WEEK: JOE THE BARBARIAN #5 – Morrison and Murphy and Stewart and Klein maintain their ability to perfectly straddle the line, giving us plenty of GoshWow in the glider escape and subsequent aerial battle while managing to keep the more fantastic elements grounded in the reality of the stark danger in which Joe finds himself, with a wild dog attack resulting in a substantial alteration to the status quo of this story as we head into the back half, here. To say nothing of the looming hypoglycemic shock. I could have stood an issue’s worth of Smoot and Zyxy actually flying around with Joe and Jack, getting just a little taste of that team dynamic, was looking forward to that all month, but I guess there’s no time for such things. This is nothing but gorgeous comics, folks. Morrison holds out the heart of wondrous imagination then suckerpunches you with blasts of hard reality. This Sean Murphy fella is hurling thunderbolts and shows no signs of letting up. Dave Stewart and Todd Klein continue to display the industry gold standard. Beautiful, beautiful work, and I have a feeling it’s only going to get better.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
5/12/10
SIEGE #4 – Well, this was a fine way to blast away the lingering elements of, let’s just call it, the Dark Bendis Age. The pace rockets along, and the big moments are still given just enough room to breathe that you don’t have time to think how ridiculous it is that all of this is going down in about five minutes. My favorite kewl idea is Tony hacking into Osborn’s helicarrier and turning it into a bullet. Best art has to be the look on Thor’s face after Loki’s last line, just a hell of a thing to render and Coipel knocked it out of the park. The end still turns into nothing but a commercial for What’s Next (just as blatantly as the end of Diggle’s ADAM STRANGE mini across the street, not to mention INFINITE CRISIS just a couple of forks down-river), I mean, just the way those last two pages are staged, Steve was talking, then you turn the page, and it’s suddenly straight up a pin-up, they’ve all turned and oh my God, they can see me, the entire Marvel Universe is pulling an Animal Man and I’m in my boxers and Tony Stark totally wants a hit off of my Lone Star, look at the smile on his face. Then, of course, you turn the page for the commercial. Wasn’t going to buy this until I heard it was only four and done, but as someone who jumped on board with Bendis seven years ago, glad I stuck it out. And, dammit, am probably going to have to give both of the new #1s a shot. And Brubaker. Even though you know they’re all going to be $4.
NEW MUTANTS #13 – They did the Vanisher! Hope decked Dani! Cyclops and Cable butted heads! Pierce said, “Fraction!” There is a footnote following a cliffhanger that does not take place on the final page telling you what other book you need to go buy to find out how they get out of that one! God love these misunderstood mutants!
THE FLASH #2 – I like how we hit the ground running with these Renegades, Johns does a fine job in just a couple of pages of establishing the kind of dynamic team chemistry that completely sells these new guys and leaves you wanting more, which is always preferable than having a mini starring people we don’t care about shoved in our face. Manipul’s certainly holding up his end, as well, dynamic depictions throughout of Barry’s super-speed, the kind of hyperkinetic line by which this series, above all others, lives or dies. And the nice man even fixed the dolly’s blond hair. Barry Allen is just that good, people. This series has a timeless and old school quality to it, one that I suppose you could argue is pretty much the embodiment of the Silver Age crush that Geoff Johns has used to basically kick us back into something pretty close to a pre-Crisis status, I mean, it’s right there on the cover, BRIGHTEST DAY, but branding aside, it’s good comics and I likes it.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #1 – A bit unwieldy, the title. The Giffen/Dematteis league was the first one that I bought monthly, so really, no way I wasn’t going to give this one a shot. (oh wait, hell, they just started up on BOOSTER GOLD today and I went right by it, shit). And Winick doesn’t mangle it at all, the first work of his I’ve enjoyed since EXILES. It’s kind of a shame, the way this issue was paced, they completely spoiled it with just the tagline for the ad that’s been running, as soon as I saw that, was like, “OH, that’s what he did there in #0,” and then that turned out to be the climax of the entire issue, was sure sorry I figured it out. And for that matter, since that scene actually takes place again in this book, why have it in #0 at all? Doesn’t that book have enough protagonists who might have benefitted from the extra pages? Ah well, still an enjoyable ride. Lopresti does great interiors and Old Man Harris kills the cover, as ever.
WAR OF THE SUPERMEN #2 – This series is crazy! I’m sure part of it is that I’ve sat out this entire line for the past year, but obviously, they hit the gas with this one. I mean, when you blow up a planet in the first issue and turn our yellow sun into a red one in a single page to follow that up, it certainly leaves you what they could possibly have in store for the next two weeks. I mean, not really much further left to go, is there? What is the escalation from planetary destruction and aging stars by millennia? I tell ya, with Marvel and DC both resetting out of their latest crises, the mini-events going on over in the Batman and Superman and X-Men narratives, Vertigo knocking it out yet again this week, not to mention Ellis and Andrews killing it on ASTONISHING, just a heavy heavy week, folks.
THE UNWRITTEN #13 – Well, this one’s got Tommy in it. Which, of course, isn’t really a bad thing, but after #5 and #12 . . . you get the drift. I would totally buy a novel or graphic novel starring the fictional Tommy Taylor, the boy wizard we only get snatches of. The last scene of this issue is nothing short of poetry, Gross carries the day. That last panel of the penultimate page followed by the first on the final page, nothing less than a perfectly rendered sequence. So chilling.
FABLES #95 – So good to get this one back to form. Got so drawn into the story of the sisters when they were young that the entire part of my brain that does the dot-connecting was just shut down, totally missed the import of the fact that the little fellow they were messing with was a dwarf. Eagerly anticipating and dreading the next installment.
DAYTRIPPER #6 – Well, hell, I really didn’t think they could just keep this going, but this one, again, might be the best one yet. Such a beautiful and lyrical piece of work. Got to get it for Mom when it comes out in trade. Running out of wonderful things to say about this one. It has a weight to it that you just don’t get very often. In any medium. And every single issue is a complete and satisfying experience in and of itself. Damn fine work from some of my favorite South Americans.
ASTONISHING X-MEN: XENOGENESIS #1 – God, Ellis’s dialogue just sings here. That page with Scott and Ororo, I hate to even parse it, the rhythm crackles along to perfection. Sorry that he’ll be done after this and the other thing with Jimenez. Though it definitely looks as though he’ll be bowing out on top of his game and with fine collaborators. This one’s really nothing but set-up, but done so well, it’s a pleasure to watch unfold. Andrews has never been better, absolutely crushes that double-page splash on 4 and 5.
****
BEST OF WEEK: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1 – Ah, Morrison. It feels like so much longer than fifteen months since we’ve read your Bruce Wayne (which is to say, the Omni-Bruce). Wild to basically get what happened the page after FINAL CRISIS ended. This issue wrings about as much entertainment as possible out of the premise What If Batman Was Thrown Back to the Stone Age? Of course Savage is the antagonist, can’t believe I didn’t see that coming. One crucial bit of off-panel action: where the hell did he find a bat that big? That’s just a hell of a sequence to chop, matching wits with that guy. But I suppose I wouldn’t rather see it than anything else we got, the scenes are very well balanced. Loved how Boy fell into the Robin role without seeming forced at all, just a natural progression of events. That shot with the eclipse and waterfall is breathtaking. Though, of course, not just a normal eclipse, clearly something to do with Omega Effect timeskipping. And wild to have Superman and GL and Booster just show up like that, certainly not expecting to see those guys. A promising start to what’s sure to be a wild ride through the centuries. And there’s no one I’d rather take it with, man, Grant Morrison and Bruce Wayne are all the company you need.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
5/05/10
Oh, there was flooding down in Tennessee, and all the books were late. But it all turned out all right, in the end. We're just running a bit behind here.
BATMAN &/VS! ROBIN #12 – Contortionist weirdness we’ve got on the cover with the force of Dick’s kick apparently breaking his own leg, definitely the most bizarre offering from my man Quitely to date at the end of his first year of providing covers for this engrossing publication, but certainly an entertaining bookend when contrasted with the cover for #1.
This was a banner issue for this title, and a significant marker upon the hypermap of Morrison’s epic Bat-run.
Too many cool things about this issue. The Bat-signal architecture of Wayne Manor. Damian, in general. That entire page with Dick and Slade, when he creams him with the IV-stand. And, of course, the end. Can’t imagine what’s coming next. Ecstatic.
Best bit, though: Page Nine, Damian says, "There's something funny about him." Hahah.
UNCANNY X-MEN #524 – Ah, God, this is, I swear to you, just a slice of the real stuff right here. Fraction and the Dodsons are killing it to death. After coming away from the previous chapter feeling nothing about the Shocking Death (that, incidentally, came across as completely arbitrary and closer to random and meaningless than I prefer and, most of all, out of nowhere in light of the fact that 1) the character really hadn’t been developed by anyone recently, meaning this wasn’t a death at the climax of the kind of long-simmering subplot that Claremont made this book’s stock-in-trade and arguably top selling point, and 2) this lack of culmination is most graphically illustrated by the fact that the issue in which the death in question occurred happens to be an issue of X-FORCE, in which, before now, the deceased had appeared maybe a grand total of twice) that blast of perfect little koan epitaphs just laid me out. Storm, most of all, man. You’ve just got to stop in the middle of that and nod to yourself and say, Yeah, Uncanny X-Men.
The real deal, right here, my friends. And the best words you’re going to hear coming out of Logan’s mouth for just the next little while, I promise.
THE BOYS #42 – Glad something’s hitting this number this month. This book’s been giving me a really bad feeling about this for months now, and it keeps getting worse, just the sight of a cover fills me with dread at what it might or I already know that it contains. I want to go on record hoping and hoping that it somehow improbably works out for Wee Hughie and Annie. And that I am really, now, dreading the more probable and horribly opposite result.
BRIGHTEST DAY #1 – A ring! I got to buy a ring for only $3 and it came with this comic book! So cool!
On board with this. The artjam blend could have been much more jarring. The feeling I have this early on is a little bit past my idealized recollection of hitting 52 every week, which is a fantastic indicator, at this point. This book is doing everything it’s supposed to, coming across as essential and absolutely indispensable for any serious fan of the DC Universe. I mean, open with five pages straight out of Johns’s regular GL gig, then pick up the WEDNESDAY COMICS baton for another blast of serious Aquaman validation, and, you know, Mars, and the Atom has a cameo. Aren't those four things, or the promise of an alternate combination of scenes of a comparable quality, worth 3 dollars, people?
iZombie #1 – Vertigo is on a such a streak right now, couldn't resist diving in on another $1 #1, especially with Allred and (Austin's Own?) Chris Roberson. Interesting and engrossing, but I got pissed when I got to the end of the issue and realized I'd already read the last five pages in preview. That's not the way you do it.
DEMO 2 #4 – Yet another detonation of fantastic from these two. I really feel too much affection for these folks at this point to do just more than report that this is why you buy and read and make comic books, sublime from every angle, makes me feel at peace. Just with the rightness of the thing, how it all comes together.
HOUSE OF MYSTERY #25 – Hilarious and engrossing bout of Exquisite Corpse. Definitely my favorite personal trek through that trick, have never seen a sicker run of one-upsmanship kicked of by that ultimate You Bastard! gesture of Willingham’s, I mean what a last panel he did there, what a damn page.
Fine fine work, all around. And Go, Austin’s own Dave Justus!
WAR OF THE SUPERMEN #1 – Couldn’t resist showing up to see how the premise played, was delighted. Definitely some shocking business erupting, can’t really imagine it going anywhere from here other than global massacre, so looking forward to seeing how that doesn’t happen. I mean, 100,000 Kryptonians VS Earth? Think about 100 Kryptonians VS Earth. It’s going to get ugly.
hail Zod.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #35 – Meltzer crushes it all the way home. Challenges Goddard and Vaughan and Jane as Best Scripted Arcs, though, of course we’re holding that fifth place for Joss’s next little bit here.
As for that last page, all I can say is Finally. I want to drive drunk through winding mountain highways with the windows marked over and the lights burned out, screaming the Sex Pistols at the top of my lungs.
****
BEST OF WEEK: SPIDER-MAN/DR. STRANGE: FEVER #2 – As much as I loved me that Morrison Batman, as always, even the Madman himself would concur that the most satisfying release of the week arrives to us in the form of a $3.99 periodical, titled above, that features, among other various notables, a unique and intoxicating singularity of artistic vision, one of the best Spider-Man pages of all time just suckerpunching you right there in the middle at Page Eleven (“THEY WERE SO OLD…”), and such an overall insane tripped out palette. McCarthy is so perfect and out of his mind, and then, just when you can’t take it anymore, the sorror-fly makes his return with a gorgeous origin retcon that has me pumping my fist. This comic is insane. You need it in your life. HARRAH!
BATMAN &/VS! ROBIN #12 – Contortionist weirdness we’ve got on the cover with the force of Dick’s kick apparently breaking his own leg, definitely the most bizarre offering from my man Quitely to date at the end of his first year of providing covers for this engrossing publication, but certainly an entertaining bookend when contrasted with the cover for #1.
This was a banner issue for this title, and a significant marker upon the hypermap of Morrison’s epic Bat-run.
Too many cool things about this issue. The Bat-signal architecture of Wayne Manor. Damian, in general. That entire page with Dick and Slade, when he creams him with the IV-stand. And, of course, the end. Can’t imagine what’s coming next. Ecstatic.
Best bit, though: Page Nine, Damian says, "There's something funny about him." Hahah.
UNCANNY X-MEN #524 – Ah, God, this is, I swear to you, just a slice of the real stuff right here. Fraction and the Dodsons are killing it to death. After coming away from the previous chapter feeling nothing about the Shocking Death (that, incidentally, came across as completely arbitrary and closer to random and meaningless than I prefer and, most of all, out of nowhere in light of the fact that 1) the character really hadn’t been developed by anyone recently, meaning this wasn’t a death at the climax of the kind of long-simmering subplot that Claremont made this book’s stock-in-trade and arguably top selling point, and 2) this lack of culmination is most graphically illustrated by the fact that the issue in which the death in question occurred happens to be an issue of X-FORCE, in which, before now, the deceased had appeared maybe a grand total of twice) that blast of perfect little koan epitaphs just laid me out. Storm, most of all, man. You’ve just got to stop in the middle of that and nod to yourself and say, Yeah, Uncanny X-Men.
The real deal, right here, my friends. And the best words you’re going to hear coming out of Logan’s mouth for just the next little while, I promise.
THE BOYS #42 – Glad something’s hitting this number this month. This book’s been giving me a really bad feeling about this for months now, and it keeps getting worse, just the sight of a cover fills me with dread at what it might or I already know that it contains. I want to go on record hoping and hoping that it somehow improbably works out for Wee Hughie and Annie. And that I am really, now, dreading the more probable and horribly opposite result.
BRIGHTEST DAY #1 – A ring! I got to buy a ring for only $3 and it came with this comic book! So cool!
On board with this. The artjam blend could have been much more jarring. The feeling I have this early on is a little bit past my idealized recollection of hitting 52 every week, which is a fantastic indicator, at this point. This book is doing everything it’s supposed to, coming across as essential and absolutely indispensable for any serious fan of the DC Universe. I mean, open with five pages straight out of Johns’s regular GL gig, then pick up the WEDNESDAY COMICS baton for another blast of serious Aquaman validation, and, you know, Mars, and the Atom has a cameo. Aren't those four things, or the promise of an alternate combination of scenes of a comparable quality, worth 3 dollars, people?
iZombie #1 – Vertigo is on a such a streak right now, couldn't resist diving in on another $1 #1, especially with Allred and (Austin's Own?) Chris Roberson. Interesting and engrossing, but I got pissed when I got to the end of the issue and realized I'd already read the last five pages in preview. That's not the way you do it.
DEMO 2 #4 – Yet another detonation of fantastic from these two. I really feel too much affection for these folks at this point to do just more than report that this is why you buy and read and make comic books, sublime from every angle, makes me feel at peace. Just with the rightness of the thing, how it all comes together.
HOUSE OF MYSTERY #25 – Hilarious and engrossing bout of Exquisite Corpse. Definitely my favorite personal trek through that trick, have never seen a sicker run of one-upsmanship kicked of by that ultimate You Bastard! gesture of Willingham’s, I mean what a last panel he did there, what a damn page.
Fine fine work, all around. And Go, Austin’s own Dave Justus!
WAR OF THE SUPERMEN #1 – Couldn’t resist showing up to see how the premise played, was delighted. Definitely some shocking business erupting, can’t really imagine it going anywhere from here other than global massacre, so looking forward to seeing how that doesn’t happen. I mean, 100,000 Kryptonians VS Earth? Think about 100 Kryptonians VS Earth. It’s going to get ugly.
hail Zod.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #35 – Meltzer crushes it all the way home. Challenges Goddard and Vaughan and Jane as Best Scripted Arcs, though, of course we’re holding that fifth place for Joss’s next little bit here.
As for that last page, all I can say is Finally. I want to drive drunk through winding mountain highways with the windows marked over and the lights burned out, screaming the Sex Pistols at the top of my lungs.
****
BEST OF WEEK: SPIDER-MAN/DR. STRANGE: FEVER #2 – As much as I loved me that Morrison Batman, as always, even the Madman himself would concur that the most satisfying release of the week arrives to us in the form of a $3.99 periodical, titled above, that features, among other various notables, a unique and intoxicating singularity of artistic vision, one of the best Spider-Man pages of all time just suckerpunching you right there in the middle at Page Eleven (“THEY WERE SO OLD…”), and such an overall insane tripped out palette. McCarthy is so perfect and out of his mind, and then, just when you can’t take it anymore, the sorror-fly makes his return with a gorgeous origin retcon that has me pumping my fist. This comic is insane. You need it in your life. HARRAH!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
WILLIAMS ON DETECTIVE
It has just occurred to me that any penciler in this day and age who hasn't picked up the seven-issue Batwoman run that J.H. Williams III did with Rucka (DETECTIVE COMICS #854-60) is pretty much indistinguishable from a rock guitarist in 1968 who can't be bothered to check out Hendrix.You've got to pay the most attention to the folks out there on the fringe, pushing and pushing the boundary of the known until all of a sudden they've dragged us somewhere new.
Monday, May 3, 2010
FIRST PURCHASE
Here's Miller Li Bass a few weeks back making her first comics purchase at Star Comics, my local since 07/85 (Serving new meatball sandwich stain-free comics every Wednesday or Thursday since 2008!).
You can tell it's on her Opapa's dime, because the purchase in question is BATMAN #697, the last issue of Tony Daniel's first arc as artist and writer, and I got through the actual sale just fine, but it hurt quite a bit more that night when I actually waded through the pages, had been ignoring the whole mess after trying out that first BATTLE OF THE COWL, but you know, little lady loves the Batman and it was latest issue and all, but I can't help thinking now that I should have put my foot down and just been like no, no get this classic DETECTIVE instead or what have you, something in the 4- or 500s, something with Two-Face, but you know, you can't do that, you've got to let them make their own mistakes, shatter the magic if you try to steer it.
Still, though. Just so wish it was something by Morrison. I mean, that's happening now, too, you know.
I read her #682 so many times the first two weeks she was alive. That one might snuck into my All-Time Greatest now, because of that, though we'll she what she thinks of ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #s 6 and 10 whenever she gets around to them.
(just no plans or expectations, though, no, don't worry about that)
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