AVENGERS #9—Another heavy installment, Bendis and the fellas are dropping the thunder here, no problem. Momentous business with the busted Illuminati. The muscular script goes for broke in a dash to claim the title of this particular corporation’s flagship series. He’s writing it like Morrison did JLA at the end of the twentieth century, I’m trying to say.
NEW AVENGERS #8—What a Deodato cover! And the colors, that one’s really not to be believed, thought it was Stuart and Laura, for sure. Acuna kills the sequentials, though, the best pages I’ve seen from him thus far. Again, Bendis is going for broke. But the Shocking Revelation involving this issue is without a doubt the double-page David Mack spread of the Vision & the Scarlet Witch looking into each other's eyes. You can basically feel Bendis trying to telepathically induce Mack to draw his reboot of the original mini-series, this time with more words and pinpoint characterization, and by Dammit, you can feel Mack agreeing, and yourself, getting ready to pony up the three dollars and ninety-nine cents plus tax. At the register, it seemed like a dick move for Marvel to release all three main $4 AVENGERS on the same day, but I have to say I’m liking the effect of slamming through them like this, with these other knuckleheads up next, going back to Mars with Shang-Chi, or some shit.
SECRET AVENGERS #9—You know what, this is G.I. Joe Avengers, is what we got right here. And I mean that in the best possible way. It’s just dawned on me that this book is basically the modern-day iteration of a S.H.I.E.L.D. monthly, and that they ought to give Steranko a jingle, I mean come on why not.
UNCANNY X-MEN #532—So, UNCANNY’s just going to be $4 for 22 pages now, too? Damn it! I keep being part of the problem! Every single book so far + THOR. I want to boycott the $4 cover price, but can’t! Thanks, though, DC.
Ah, this is fine. Fraction Gillen Land, I love CASANOVA and PHONOGRAM tra-lala. The Marvel price point really makes them look like assholes, as deftly as Brevoort spins it.
NEW MUTANTS #21—This is already turning out to be a pretty serious two-issue sleeper event unto itself before that last scene just fucking suckerpunches you. Nice uppercut, lads. Those Rasputins do it to me every time.
NEW YORK FIVE #1—Oh man, is Ryan Kelly just a master of what he does. Absurd how good that man is. Wood’s skewed take on, shockingly, GOSSIP GIRL by way of SCOTT PILGRIM and the aforementioned Master Kelly is a huge surprise. Can’t believe I passed on the new edition of the first volume of these when I held it in my hands a few weeks ago. God, I miss LOCAL. Or new LOCALs, I should say. This is one that maybe all the hip folk will be talking about, if you care to approach them swaddled in their own base vernacular. Which is certainly good enough for the fellas, here. Gobs of respect.
FABLES #101—The Shanower art looks so good! Surprising how great a non-Buckingham issue can be, I have never given the notion really any credence at all. Willingham has been at the top of his storytelling game for a few years, now. This title is so elastic, maybe the most versatile storytelling engine this side of The Doctah. Or Gaiman, whenever he's inspired enough to channel his own real and true D’s nuts.
AMERICAN VAMPIRE #10—That page where the cars are crashing and the two guys are bailing out? That’s what I’ve always been wanting from this situation when I encounter it in fiction. In a car falling off a cliff? Don’t go down with the ship, man! Take your chances with a broken leg or two, dashed up against the cliff on your way down.
Looks like NY5 is getting enough of a push, there. Good thing.
ACTION COMICS #897—That first page is just a whole lot to take, not even counting, ayeGod, the YOGI BEAR video game on the insane front cover. Are we not entertained?!? And then Cornell’s first Joker page, I think only the third of this particular periodical, is one of the all-time greats, just right out of the gate. Joker is certainly escalation from Death, I did not figure that out for myself. How hard not to just spiral off into a buddy-periodical starring these two nuts. Good show, Mr. Cornell and compatriots. When Superman actually shows back up in this thing, it’s going to be like ALL-STAR SUPERMAN’s coming out monthly, somehow. Maybe. I hope.
DETECTIVE COMICS #873—What a symmetrical week. Not even counting the Founding Family brilliance, but tonight I’ve got Faith’s 5 x 5, a perfect Big Two split, opened the evening with the cream of the Avengers and X-franchises before sliding into a Vertigo triptych (and where the hell is the last JOE THE BARBARIAN, anyway? Murphy was pretty much hitting his deadlines throughout and lad simply fell to pieces on us here at the end? Or, really what I hope, Dave Stewart’s just been holed up for all these weeks seeming like a total dick but really hard at work on his Sistine Chapel. What a best case BEST case scenario that would turn out to be, story still developing, breathless viewers...), and then, the cornerstones, ACTION & DETECTIVE. This is poetry. Maybe I should get going, here, on the actual Gotham yarn.
Jock takes top marks for these no background DC covers this month. Not even counting the interiors. You know what, somebody show me a better 3-part Dick Grayson story than this. I’m not sure that there’s one out there. And these yokels are just getting started! Such a such such a good time to be a Bat-fan. I am really going to have a sad, maudlin old time when Morrison finally gets done, but folks like this give me hope. In three or five months, this could be my favorite thing on the stands. Or whatever else is happening with FF or the rest of the caped crusaders.
BEST OF WEEK: Too many worthy contenders, but considering how well Hickman & Epting delivered amidst the deafening hype, no contest. I need to write better words about what just happened, there.
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