3/02/11

BEST OF WEEK: JOE THE BARBARIAN #8—Well, after six months without, how could it not be? Not even counting, let’s just jump to the last page, and there’s only that perfect last shot scored by three pieces of dialogue: 1) the last actual spoken line of in-story dialogue, which is of course total satisfaction on both narrative and suckerpunch-you-in-the-heart levels. First punctuation. 2) THE END. Second punctuation. That should do it. But, no. Not like it’s even in the bottom right, or halfway down to kind of guide the reader on out forever away, but right there, really crowding the space of the previous caption is 3) SEAN MURPHY. The artist tags his work. It invariably drives me insane when even genius folk like Risso or Guera just sign a page in the middle of the book, the original piece of art for sale, I totally get that and barely even care after the fact, but that first time through at least, if not second fourth and fifth, when it still feels like it belongs to me, then I really detest the conduit messing with the narrative flow even more than the editors dropping in an ad at the wrong page, because you can almost forgive them for just trying to stay above the bottom line, but it’s somehow so much more unforgivable when the guy or gal throws down all those beautiful lines and then doesn’t stop and has to go all the way back to scrawling their own special letters onto a wall, trying to make it theirs. This book. What I’m trying to say is, 100% of previous experience leads me to believe that the written climax of this breathtaking rapturous ride turning out to be dude tagging his shit, that should have driven me crazy. But it was the tenth perfect landing of the night! And yes no now we’re really done! In a word, triumphant.

I was so on the fence to open or close with this, am flattened an hour later, also just starting to wonder how it would have gone if this was the closer while simultaneously bemoaning impressions of subsequent reads. Onward!

But, just, in case we don’t make it back here tonight. How cool the names in the credit box still did not change. Morrison & Murphy. Klein & Stewart, which, who wants to argue with me that those are the best living embodiments of their chosen vocation? Leaving the ultimately named and summarily terminated Pornsak Pinchote and Karen Berger with sole editor credits, and I really relish the notion that even after that clearly sharp talent scout was let go because of corporate merger hijinx, the #1 used no proxies and got down dirty to ensure that every one of these pages was the very best that the imprint has to offer, which, yeah, put this one and DAYTRIPPER up against anything, ever. And that’s just lately. The greatest.

I haven’t been transparent enough. I got that bittersweet series finale gut sad when I found out this was coming out this week. I really, really adored this story and champion it as a shining example of the medium. I loved it and loved it, and after six months of waiting, the last 32 pages could not have done more to destroy me or been more perfect and I can’t wait to dive back in later, but always remembering these first golden dips.

But it’s still Wednesday.



HOUSE OF MYSTERY #35—It all went down. A definitive punctuation to not only the arc but also the first act or maybe call it movement of Sturges’s lumbering leviathan. Final words here that cause great concern, as well. First time for me that the main story crushed the embedded one, but maybe that’s because it wasn’t actually embedded or Sturges was cribbing too hard from Hitchcock or he’s the sick fuck after all or I just took a great big swig of wine before turning the page and thought of nothing, gave myself over entirely to what was next, which turned out to be the only way to outsmart the trick.

THE BOYS #52—Double fried. Apparently, now all seemingly tangential mini series are completely indispensible chunks of major character development. Jings! That said, putting together exactly how it went down with Hughie + the other guy from the previous arc was a major component of the enjoyment. Not to be outdone by the gratuitous slab of Butcher beefcake this time out. This line of dialogue refers to him! Recognize!

INCOGNITO: BAD INFLUENCES #4—I love how Phillips’s style seems to be degrading, becoming bogged down with mid-sixties Kirby workload or something. The energy of it versus those languid noir angles in CRIMINAL, both perfect in their places. The panel about “The moon and the darkness laugh in harmony and call me a fool…” is some pretty perfect sequential alchemy.

JOHN BYRNE’S NEXT MEN #4—Finally a rerun of Sawyer losing Juliet down the shaft that really and truly doubles as insane mindfuck. Page 4, panel 3 gives you so much perfect Byrne robotics that you’d be a fool to ask for more. It’s more fun to watch this man lose his mind than can be said for Frank Miller and/or most every other folk.

X-FACTOR #216—Another notch in the belt of this storied run and, looks like, the only Marvel worth buying this week. So choice. This girl really is firing, she is.

BRIGHTEST DAY #21—That was really really good. I am left puzzling over the image, just barely related/inspired from the content of this issue, of what a Trigonacerratops a’Rexasaurus looks like. Possibly red with antlers, methinks. (also, it is late, and I read the last issue of the TINY TITANS/ARCHIES crossover more times than I ought to’ve, seems)

GREEN LANTERN #63—Johns excels his continuity-eating-itself expertise into heretofore unimagined realms, as, based on the last two issues, Krona basically imagined and actualized everything in the Green Lantern mythos. Not counting, of course, his actual cohorts the Guardians of the Universe or himself in the original Crisis. Not yet. Next up, one suspects, Krona’s heretofore unrealized and retconned contributions toward the new genesis of the speed force. Wasn't this cover just a splash page from last issue? Has anyone noticed? Isn't that a problem?