12/3/14

ACTION COMICS #36 — All right, I have to got to say that I was eyeing these widescreen Darwyn Cooke covers for close to a full ten minutes before finally opening this one up, feeling a bit of the old bittersweet at the sure-to-be massive gap in quality between the stories implied by these covers and their actual interiors. And while it is true that I would pay a considerable sum to see Mr. Cooke just for one month take over these books that he’s providing variants for, all three of these creative teams really elevated their already considerable game and banished those melancholy thoughts. None greater than Pak/Kuder here, who have got a nice little rhythm back after getting jostled around a bit by fill-ins and a couple of small crossover events. Smallville is still having a case of the Octobers, and the situation escalates dramatically by issue’s end. My favorite part of this issue has to be the three-page flashback to when Clark and Lana were in third grade. Really, not much is better than the first panel of that, but I am a fan of how Kuder relaxes the tight inks on his lines and lets some just straight pencil shading stand. It gives this short scene a really different atmosphere and has you longing for just a series of Young Superboy adventures with Kuder tearing it up throughout.

DETECTIVE COMICS #36 — Man, Manapul & Buccellato continue to be turn in some of the most dramatic vibrant panelwork on the rack today. They are both masters of their craft who have refined their talent through years of collaboration, and the resulting pages are always a wonder to behold. Every page truly is a standalone work of art. And now that I’m not expecting the Eisner title pages, I’m blown away by them when they hit, still packing plenty of visual punch. What keeps this from being a great issue, though, is still the writing. It isn’t bad, but it’s average and always seems to manage a couple of missteps that take me out of it. Alfred ever referring to something as “Bruce time” is horrible. Having Bruce point that out does not mitigate the damaging effect it has upon the reader. And then I was able to dial back in to the exchange between Bullock and the ridiculously named Yip until that wacky splash of Batman peering in through the broken window to answer Bullock’s question. Surprise! The art on that splash is absolutely gorgeous, but the narrative beat made me laugh out loud and completely diffused the gravity of the content. This book is certainly worth it for the art alone, when these guys aren’t getting fill-ins, but I would love the scripting to tighten up a bit, see: the following issue.

GRAYSON #5 — Predictably, another incredible issue. And easily the most dramatic opening page of the week, yow! Talk about the in medias res. It doesn’t matter what’s gone before, Dick and Midnighter are trying to deliver a baby and save the mother’s life while Helena tries to keep their plane from crashing. The baby makes it, at least. Then, it’s nothing but a slow-burn done-in-one as the three survivors+baby try to survive the impossible two-hundred mile walk to the next settlement as the days add up and the characterization thickens. Dick Grayson really is just the best guy. I could also do an alternate series of him deliriously stumbling through a desert telling a newborn increasingly fragmented and nonsensical dreams about him and Batman. That sounds incredible. As much love and hype as this book is getting, it isn’t enough. Tom King’s scripts are razor-sharp, and Mikel Janin has elevated his already considerable game to a ridiculous level. And they’re really still getting started, I can’t imagine what the long-term plan for this book is. Am certainly going to be around to find out though, hey.

BATMAN ETERNAL #35 — That “THREE HOURS FROM NOW” caption is kind of a confusing way to open when just a “THREE HOURS EARLIER…” on the next page would do the same deal just fine. Otherwise, this is a pretty solid issue. Relatively taking things at a slower pace, but that’s to be expected after the blow-up last week. Fernando Blanco turns in very solid work, and I can’t remember the last time that Tynion was actually scripting. It’s been quite a while.

FUTURES END #31 — Where was Merino last issue when we needed him? I love how Lois is blowing the whistle on Cadmus and trying to make them eat it for Ollie’s murder even though she knows good and well that he is alive. And that’s before dropping the emboldened term “Secret War.” Really, Lois? Really? And who can resist the fun of Lemire writing the Bakers cavorting about with Island Ollie? Give us THAT shit every month, DC. Two pages is not enough. One single line of dialogue and the look in her eyes really slams home how much I missed Maxine. And was anybody else thinking of Booster & Beetle rocking it on the isle of Kooeykooeykooey when Buddy & Ollie toasted the latter’s retirement? (fun fact: I drop in and write these reviews only a couple at a time, seldom all in one sitting, but here we are at the third time that I’m clamoring for an alternate DC series implied by some short-term set-up; so, this is the week for that). Okay, but then what the hell was that with the Midge creature? Are we supposed to know what’s going on with her? She came out of nowhere, but Constantine acted like we were supposed to already be familiar with her. And the whole deal with Firestorm/Madison/Jason/Tim certainly took an interesting enough twist, but it is an ironic inversion, Madison getting so mad about Tim not telling her about his  heroic past while straight-up shutting him out of the situation the very minute that the same sort of thing erupts for her in the present.

GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS  #04 — This opening is pretty straightforward as far as this series goes. Flashback to King Tiger Eating A Cheeseburger back when he was a prince playing a game with his friend Crabigail. He pretends to be his father and has poor Crabigail be the enslaved population of Crabulon. The king commands his worthless crabs to eat a passing sentient toad. Cut to the actual king and queen being told that the queen’s previous pregnancy with this charming little fellow has rendered her barren. The king has the messenger disintegrated. The little prince comes in and lies about Crabigail’s toad consumption being her own idea. The reason for this is because the toad was apparently poisonous. There is a sound-effect entitled “Croad.” Cut to Croad the unfortunate landing on earth to quote Darth Vader and eat a native crab, producing a sound-effect of “Cronch.” Okay, actually, this one was pretty weird, too. There’s something profoundly wrong with Ryan Browne, but it is such a delight to watch unfold.

LOW #5 — This book is worth the cover price just for the introduction of the term “quantumologist,” alone. With what Remender’s been up to over in the merry Marvel universe and then also in BLACK SCIENCE, you certainly can’t take the survival of the protagonists for granted, which lends an immediacy and gravitas to that battle in the arena that most other books wouldn’t have. And just when it was going so well . . .

BEST OF WEEK: CHEW #45 — Yes, what an utterly shitty ending! Goddamn you, The Mighty Layman. I can’t believe I queued this up to be the last book of the night. What a fucking terrible last page. You’re all evil, evil bastards. The end.