2/23/11

All right, Marvel shows up with seven damn $4 books that I have to buy and two other pulls that I dropped just because obviously the only thing worse than seven $4 books is nine. Would have given Spencah/Kitson’s Rhodey book a shot and they, um, pulled ASTONISHING X-MEN for me. Daniel Way and Jason Pearson. That is how you follow up Ellis/Jimenez, folks. Perfect. Way to keep it A-game. I forgot to tell the guys behind the counter to take it off my list, was just so stunned by that selection. Let’s see what we get for our money with $28 worth of the best the House of Ideas has to offer this week, just a disproportionate amount of heavy hitters.

FANTASTIC FOUR #588—A stunner. What if they really didn’t come back in a year with #600 but this Future Foundation thing really stuck? It’s all leaving me pretty breathless with wonder, just everything you always ever wanted from this book. Sole gripe is how much cooler it would have been if they had buttoned up the press on the solicitations and kept it just FF #1 until now or something, and everyone, for the first time tonight or this morning or I guess the retailers who cared yesterday, but if the whole Future Foundation and Parker insertion was a total surprise on the last pages of this issue and nobody had had any idea it was coming, would have unquestionably made a great thing greater. Too, was definitely giving Nick Dragotta's name all the appropriate WTF? static, seems like you'd want to really get an A-list guy for this, Alan Davis, say. I only remember Dragotta as maybe filling in for Jock on a couple of issues of THE LOSERS, maybe? Seemed like an odd play, but the pages looked great. And of course Mark Brooks knocked that 8-pager out of the park. Cool touch to jump back to that conversation, I was definitely sorry to move on in the main story. And, oh, didn't even talk about the no-dialogue. Brilliant, so effective. Killer Thing/Hulk/Thor brawl, can't remember enjoying one more. How can these 30 pages be anything less than BEST OF WEEK?

AVENGERS #10—Yipe! This thing is not one but two 22-page stories and neither one of them has a single ad on all 44 pages. Not to be believed. Everyone does a great job, I just, I can’t say anything else about it right now. 44 pages.

SECRET AVENGERS #10—It is tonight for you, SECRET AVENGERS. You are going to have to be one charming motherfucking pig or drop some serious backmatter. Let’s see how you do.
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Pretty excellent work. Strong finish to the arc. Deodato’s best issue to date. Don’t know what to do with this one, feels like I’m only punishing myself if I stop picking it up, but throwing down $4 a month for 22 pages plus ads is something I can just barely abide doing in theory or execution. And it’s tearing me apart!

Maybe, maybe if there aren’t six other Marvel books I want to get in four weeks, I’ll have to give the next arc a shot to destroy me again. But won’t all these books, yes, come out again in four weeks?

CAPTAIN AMERICA #615—Perfect. Even, including, and especially when Steve tells Bucky he’s not even supposed to BE here. Most surreal. Dante Hicks channeling. Ever.

Fantastic last page juke! Brubaker! My man showed up tonight.

McKeever and crew turn in a solid 8-page teaser for the Nomad girl until she gets the kiss of death footer, her adventures continue this month in the pages of ONSLAUGHT UNLEASHED #1. Good night, dear girl. Let’s get Brubaker in this spot with anyone else he wants, please.

THOR #620—Stunning. Was expecting this arc to wrap up until the last page, it was certainly exploding all around like you want your part 6 finale to do. I really really love this one until the end of time, $4 or whatever for however many pages it dwindles to, I don’t care. If Fraction maintains pace, this is the one that will maybe most likely be remembered as his best long arc, excluding - always, as we must - CASANOVA from such reckonings.

IRON MAN #501—Was there ever a better reason to get up and get yourself another Lone Star and/or glass of wine just because you can than this book? In your faces, Stark and Fraction. I apologize, that’s terrible. All right.
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Three months running, just destroying what has come before. This and THOR, tonight, Fraction’s writing is all those picoscopic sunbursts that Superman could see beneath his skin when Leo was giving him the diagnosis in ALL-STAR #1.

UNCANNY X-MEN #533—That Kitty Pryde Scott Pilgrim status thing, man, God, turn off the lights, shut it down. That’s the best. Gillen is certainly huffing the spark of life into this gorgeous old beast. Land kind of juked me on those last couple of pages, but not until then.

MORNING GLORIES #7—It looks like this is an entire arc of solo spotlights? Really going to have to go back through this whole run in a couple of months, I suspect it's going to make much more sense in one go of it.

NEW YORK FIVE #2—These guys, together. It is the poetry.

ACTION COMICS #898—Luthor and Larfleeze have their big reunion and we get reminded for the hundred thousandth time what a heartless bastard the former is before he straps in with his girlfriend android Lois Lane to rocket off into orbit for next month's finale. If that doesn't sound like the greatest thing to you, maybe go find one of them book books to read. Too, there's a twist at the end that I'm kicking myself for not seeing coming a mile away, because it's so perfect and logical and the only way to ratchet up the stakes from here. I guess I haven't heard, but I really hope this team's staying on after this and, hey, maybe even gets to write about Superman doing something other than walking around, because they have really worked magic with this title.

AMERICAN VAMPIRE #12—Daniel Zezelj shows up to draw a story in which Skinner Sweet is actually the protagonist. The guy's style really fits the story, always reminds me of that bizarre LOVELESS book Azzarello did a few years ago, a good fit, here. Though I really can't wait for Albuquerque to make it on back. Can't believe this title's already got its first year in the can, time is just racing on by, now.

DETECTIVE COMICS #874—The Part 3 on this one really threw me until I realized that of course this was a continuation of the Gordon backup that I guess got bumped last month so that we could hold the line. But then it cuts to Dick and Tim to start a new arc? That Jock will pick up with next issue? I hope so, though old Francesco Francavilla does fine work throughout, really like four gorgeous splashes in a row to make up for all that Gordon talky talk. This issue maybe dips just a little bit from the excellence of the past three, but it's solid entertainment for your three one-dollar bills.