11/7/12

ACTION COMICS #14—This one right here embodies and fulfills all the science fiction madness and glory promised by the title “Superman’s Mission to Mars.” Really, just a perfect six-page opening scene. Especially the third page, our reader’s panel camera not quite ever being able to keep up with him. (advertising side-note: tag-lining “The Return of the New Gods begins in Issue #15!” for the WONDER WOMAN due in five weeks kind of undercuts how completely restrained and on the far side of coy Azzarello was in all of the interviews after that last page of #12, insisting that for now, it was just Orion, only Orion) And while I’m griping, revealing The Multitude on the cover was also a misfire, it would have been so much more effective if these new antagonists that nobody’s ever seen before actually made their first appearance in-story. There are many other ways to roll with a cover about a Superman on Mars issue. I probably would have fought for a Gibbons homage, myself. At any rate, when the bad guys show up, they are indeed a fearsome thing. (advertising side-note #2: that double-page ad in the middle featuring The New 52 Justice League action figures fighting Darkseid, complete with GL fending off The Omega Effect is dropping some serious compositional like all-time greatness for a toy ad). The fork-interacting-with-a-two-dimensional-surface metaphor is one of the better upper-dimensional ones I’ve encountered. Leave it to Kal. But wow, it all sure went wrong at the end, didn’t it? Good Lord! On the art side of things, I wish I was a bigger fan of the overall situation. That opening scene is, like I said, very well done, but a great deal of the back half of the lead story looks really rushed with flat camera-angles and wonky anatomy and body language. It’s all perfectly serviceable and de rigueur for monthly Morrison superhero books, but I was expecting a bit more thunder from Morales before this title launched, particularly in light of the fill-in lead-time he’s been given. On the other hand, Sprouse/Story/Bellaire turn in superior work for the back-up feature, which also happens to be the best writer Sholly Fisch has done thus far. You’ve got to love Neil deGrasse Tyson showing up in a sort of New 52 capacity as Emil Hamilton and the twist at the end really works.

DETECTIVE COMICS #14—Surprising no one, Layman/Fabok/Cox continue to absolutely blow it up on this title. Pretty flawless business, all around. Layman nails the narrative voice and keeps the plot moving along at just the right pace, Fabok’s lines are crisp and his splashes are a beautiful thing to behold, and Cox’s colors pop just right. Plus, there are several little character moments that really push this one over the top, like Bruce’s one-panel dressing-down of Damian re: breakfast. Daddy Bat is not putting up with that shit. Fine work all around, I’m hoping these boys are settling in for a nice long run. This issue also once again provides the definitive version of how to publish these $4 DC issues with back-up stories. Instead of having the extra story be random unrelated fill-in content by another creative team entirely (as much fun as we just had a minute ago with Dr. Tyson), pay the writer of the main feature to jam out additional material that complements the lead story. I get the whole deal about artists not being able to crank out thirty pages on a monthly deadline, but writers do not face the same dilemma. This is how it’s done!

ANIMAL MAN #14—And we’re back into it with Rotworld proper. Timothy Green II and Joseph Silver do a fine job blending in the style on their fill-in pages with Pugh. You’ve got to wonder how this will all be reset (how great if it wasn’t and these guys’ status quo was just in this new Vertigoesque post-Rot pocket, going forward? Yeah, I know, not likely), but there go Hawk, Dove, and Deathstroke! Grodd and M’sieu Mallah teaming up in this situation feels like the greatest BRAVE & THE BOLD-type situation ever.

SWAMP THING #14—Man, Paquette never seems like he’s got any room left to improve and then he shows up with something like that fifth page. Just masterful gorgeous business. And who isn’t all geeked out to see Snyder trot out Gotham City. Of course Batman is still holed up one year later, presumably working on the Ultimate Rot Nullifier. Perfect. Also, a nice bit of symmetry to have little Will Arcane showing up at the end of this one in the present opposite his flashback appearance with Maxine back in ANIMAL MAN. Snyder & Lemire are keeping everything nice and tight and it’s very rewarding to read something as simultaneously epic and simple as a two-book event with same-day monthly release. Full marks, all around.

BEST OF WEEK: THOUGHT BUBBLE—THE LEEDS COMIC ART FESTIVAL ANTHOLOGY 2012—Well, this was another great anthology surprise to find on the rack this week. I’m already a fan of that large-page newsprint WEDNESDAY COMICS format, but when you’ve got names like Kate Beaton, Warren Ellis, Tony Harris, Dave Johnson, Sean Phillips, Gail Simone, Richard Starkings, and Skottie Young on the cover, all for $3.99, it’s not much of a gamble. I was astonished by the overall quality of every single story inside, 28 pages of oversized greatness. We open with four single-pagers, whimsical stuff, including one about three English kids swapping comics in the early seventies and then Gail Simone dropping a gang of hilarious Victorian permutations of popular titles. Then the Elephantmen/Strontium Dog madness hits. I’ve never read either, but this fella Boo Cook murders it. The colors look incredible, actually seem enhanced by the newsprint. Kristyna Baczynski and Matthew Sheret produce a lovely eight-page story about a young girl’s search for Algernon Whipple that is reminiscent of a softer more delightful Chris Ware. Not every story even has creator credits but they’re refreshing little blasts of narrative, there and gone before you even know what’s happened. I dug Brandon/Gallagher’s “I’m Through.” Steve Reynolds’s “Dad’s Ear” is the right kind of crazy. Stephen Mooney and Jordie Bellaire’s “Half Past Danger” is more of a single-page trailer for something that’s coming out next summer, but it looks great. Dave Johnson’s true story of how he met Bob Layton is solid and makes you want more autobiographical material from that direction whenever he can break away from all those sweet cover gigs. “The Immortality Drive” is a pretty solid slab of science fiction in seven panels. Six, really. “Soon” has got to be the one by Ellis, a fine meditation and invocation on mankind’s unrelenting drive to press ever onward. “Dude Watchin’ with The Brontës” is as silly as it sounds. That “transreality: do-over” by Chris Lackey is a headscratching bit of business, veering into MOON territory, there. Another serious bit of story to convey in seven panels. And the last page is “C<3r 15-year-old="15-year-old" a="a" all="all" an="an" and="and" anything="anything" as="as" at="at" be="be" better="better" bottom="bottom" but="but" by="by" cartoonist="cartoonist" children="children" comics.="comics." cover="cover" depth="depth" despite="despite" dream="dream" dropping="dropping" ecoming="ecoming" else="else" ending="ending" entire="entire" especially="especially" first-prize-winner="first-prize-winner" found="found" full="full" fun="fun" future="future" gem="gem" got="got" has="has" heart="heart" here.="here." highly="highly" in="in" indie="indie" inside="inside" is="is" it="it" kamlish="kamlish" kinds="kinds" know="know" lady="lady" manages="manages" monogamous="monogamous" much="much" narrative="narrative" of="of" one="one" p="p" page.="page." panorama="panorama" person="person" rear="rear" recommended="recommended" relationship="relationship" s="s" school-aged="school-aged" serious="serious" sophie="sophie" still="still" submissions="submissions" superhero="superhero" the="the" there="there" thing.="thing." thing="thing" this="this" those="those" to="to" treasure="treasure" was="was" what="what" which="which" with="with" you="you" young="young">

THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS #7—Everything seems to lock in for this issue in a way that I didn’t realize it hadn’t yet. All the pieces are in place, both on the page and in terms of creator alignment, and all this horrible beast can do is lurch forward to consume any and all. The Oval Office orgy shot is appalling even before you see poor Hickman. Somehow, the toilet just hanging out in the upper-left corner without a stall of any kind to prevent watching folks do their business is the worst bit. Laika’s response in the affirmative is the most wonderful thing. Beware FDR: AI! Unbelievably, it still seems like we’re only seeing the tip of how completely stark raving this thing really is.

THE AVENGERS #33—Wow, everybody at the table jamming on Jarvis-served hot dogs as Daisy walks in. Bendis is just like taunting his detractors on the way out, hilarious. The Dodsons certainly crank the art up a bit from last issue. There’s really nothing wrong with this issue, it’s good fun, I just expected a bit more weight coming at the end of this monumental run that’s never been done in franchise history. Crushing character moments. The endgame! So, what, is that Ultron thing with Hitch cancelled? Or just the Big Event of 2013 now? Maybe it always was. Moving on to . . .

THE NEW AVENGERS #32—We welcome the great Carlos Pacheco! I have got to say, they need to vary up a little bit more about Maria Hill and Daisy Johnson than the part in their hair, they’re pretty much physically indistinguishable to me. And but meanwhile, it’s going quite poorly for the Luke Cage’s mansion squad. My man Bendis has got to break a few toys while heading out the door. Wonderful and a little hilarious to see Brother Voodoo again, or what’s left of him. So many pet characters! Here’s hoping for one last hurrah with The Hood. Not really.

DAREDEVIL: END OF DAYS #2—President Sam Wilson! A slender ray of hope shining through all the misery and horrah of Ben Urich’s latter-day existence. That first double-splash is pretty overwhelming, it looks like someone in a Captain America mask is delivering the news, we receive confirmation that hot dogs, burgers, steak, and Coca-Cola are still in effect, Thor is being used to market insurance with a cute little in-text nod toward The Authority, there’s something going on with the FF or their images, there’s still wrestling, some fragrance called Relent, West Side Story and Tommy are still playing and there is also a Hulk musical, the Vision bought or was co-opted by Virgin and the Megastore is now a hotel (?), Bendis is still shilling for Spider-Men all these years later, oh, now the FF are a chain of restaurants and the X-Men have taken over McDonald’s and turned the arches upside down, I guess to stand for Wolverine? Bleak times, my friends. Oh right, and there are helicarriers with spotlights positively littering the sky. Ha ha, wow, and President Falcon is now calling the liberals a Latverian conspiracy. This is wonderful. What a Sienkiewicz painting of Natasha in her element. Did anyone else read 232 on that license plate at the funeral and think of Miller/Mazzucchelli’s penultimate BORN AGAIN issue? This is another slice of greatness, really fine work all around. And I love the cover to next issue, what’s not incredible about Officers Bendis & Mack finding Elektra having hung herself in-costume in The Big House?