4/06/11

FEAR ITSELF #1—This one didn’t level me like I was expecting it to, based on the creative team. Mainly it’s because no matter how much I tried to dodge anything at all about this event, it still bled over to me that Odin put a whuppin down on his boy, and there’s only one other reveal that’s more of a headscratcher at this point. The art was certainly thunder. That THE WORTHY pre-hype campaign totally worked against them. If I hadn’t heard the term, it might have seemed interesting, but when it gets dropped, all I could think was . . . And roll the $4 tie-ins! But wait, just now remembering that maybe they’re doing that one as a free webcomic? Which is kind of a crazy move. Oh, well. Cautiously optimistic about this one. Wasn’t crazy about the first issue of FINAL CRISIS, either. And still think Bendis’s first issue of SECRET INVASION is the most perfectly constructed first issue of a Big Event of all time. Both first impressions could not have more radically reversed themselves, so here’s hoping.

BRIGHTEST DAY #23—Okay, this one got spoiled for me, but the turn of the page still took my breath away just a bit. Reis has been destroying this thing. Can’t believe I’m actually feeling anticipation for a monthly AQUAMAN. It’s a crazy world.

THE BOYS #53—This arc’s leaving me a bit cold. Mainly because this book was just shredding through the 40s. I get that Ennis doesn’t groove on superheroes and delights in crafting absurd and violent fates to befall them, but need a little bit more for my $3.99 every month. This one’s starting to feel padded out.

UNCANNY X-MEN #534.1—This was a pretty solid Fractionless debut for Gillen. Didn’t blow my socks off, but the guy clearly knows what he’s doing and is going to steer us in some interesting directions. Wish we could have gotten through all this Magneto business without bringing up Morrison’s run, because that reset they pulled takes me right out of it.

Complaint Dept: Didn’t care for one word of Namor’s dialogue. And can’t believe we’re still alternating between the Dodsons and Land coming up. Man.

****

BEST OF WEEK: NONPLAYER #1—A stunning professional debut. I guess this Nate Simpson fellow did every single thing on this book? Gorgeous. Breathtaking. What every book should hope to be. Can’t decide if I’m more blown away by the color palette or the pencils. Or even the character design. These people are beautiful. I don't know, I could do a thousand words on just the art. Really really clean. Detailed backgrounds. The faces remind me of Art Adams or lately McKelvie. And yeah, those color tones definitely have a Matt Wilson PHONOGRAM thing going on. The backgrounds recall Moebius with an attention to detail that's only barely ramped down from Geof Darrow. In the healthiest of ways. But the parsing diminishes the effect, the first few times through, you're just awash in these pages. I hope Simpson's been working on this series for like the last ten years, otherwise #2 might not be out until Halloween. I’ll be happy to wait, though. Image has been tearing it up with debuts lately, but this one sets the bar almost impossibly high. With DAYTRIPPER, JOE THE BARBARIAN, and S.H.I.E.L.D. vol. 1 in the can, it's wonderful to have a mini-series of this caliber to long for.

****

RETRO!: Set the Wayback Machine for 7 days, friends! Since it was a light week and I couldn’t find any shelf copies of ORC-STAIN, I picked up a couple of books I’d read about that sounded too darn interesting to pass up.

BUTCHER BAKER: THE RIGHTEOUS MAKER #1—Greg Burgas’s review sold me on giving this one a look. The problem is, the same review reveals most of what’s so insane about this issue. No dig on Burgas, the back end just didn’t maintain the totally fucking nuts vibe of the front end. Not counting the backmatter, my man was snorting some uncut Lester Bangs when that thing got slammed out. This reads as Joe Casey channeling Ennis. Which is well and good. I can get behind the sentiment expressed in the backmatter, but I’m not sure that it’s actualized within these pages. At least, not yet. Interesting to turn around and read that Casey’s doing much ballyhooed villain work for Marvel. Is #2 out next week, maybe? If it’s a light week, I’ll give it a shot.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #657—Dan Slott and a tag-team of artists absolutely crush it here. So much heart in this one. If Parker and the Fantastic Three sitting around the kitchen table feeling sad about the loss of their friend and having various entertaining flashbacks drawn in styles reflecting the various periods in which they take place, all of which focus on the fraternal relationship between Peter and the deceased, sounds at all appealing, then pick this one up, posthaste.