2/15/12

BATMAN #6—The first phase of this conflict draws to a close with our hero finally managing to overcome the new antagonist who’s been outclassing him since first dropping in (always a dicey proposition in a BATMAN title, but the creative team pulls it off as well as possible). However, from that last page, we see that they’re just getting started, these owl folk are going to be up to no good for quite some time to come. I like how the book threads the line of ambiguity between whether they’re all wearing masks and Bruce is just seeing them as owls because he’s all doped up or what. Capullo/Glapion deliver satisfying catharsis with Batman finally roaring up and beating the hell out of Talon. Really dynamic good-looking pages, there. Can’t remember the last time a punch getting thrown looked so good. Half a year down the line, this team is still performing at the height of their creative powers and delivering one of the finest books on the rack today.

WONDER WOMAN #6—Oh, I miss the Chiang. Akins doesn’t drop the ball by any means, but Chiang put such an indelible stamp on his first four issues that anyone else has just a hell of a time picking up the pieces. More shenanigans with Hera this time out, as Diana manipulates her fish uncle Poseidon right where she needs him to be in order to get the better of her, I don’t know, wicked stepmother? Not quite, but close enough. Azzarello continues to entertain and never overly explain in this supercollision of Greek myth and the Wonder Woman mythos.

FABLES #114—We start off another arc (well, two, if you count the three-pager at the end) with a clearly malevolent toy tugboat who took me out of the story every single time he was on-panel by bringing to mind Tugger (“Tuggah”) of Foightin’ Round the World!-fame (see: SOUTHPARK 6.05). I’m going to have to get over that. We get another two pages of Bad Sam, a breakout-character-in-the-making if ever there was one, spend a little time with Bigby and Winter, as well as at home with Snow and the rest of the cubs, and really just set the stage for what’s to come. Willingham’s accrued long-term storytelling chops are seriously starting to freak me out.

DAREDEVIL #9—Waid continues to mine greatness from a well-tapped vein with the head-slappingly simple conceit of pitting our intrepid Man Without Fear against that original 616 antagonist, the Mole Man. More gorgeous pages and pitch-perfect characterization via caption dialogue. That first two-page spread from Rivera is as iconic as any shot in this character’s rich history. This run and Hickman over on FF(s) are the reason that I have no chance whatsoever of boycotting Marvel, despite all that righteous Kirby indignation that keeps crackling all up and around.

THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #513—Rhodey has a great entrance and then of course has to take Tony in, because isn’t that always the way. This one’s still earning its $4 cover, but I’d be all right if the fellas wanted to pack it in after another year or so.

X-FACTOR #232—Madrox makes it home! Gets laid! Bad guys from alternate dimensions follow him back! Still no sign of Alex & Lorna! PAD winks at long-time readers!

THE NEW AVENGERS #21—Because nobody demanded it, Clor 2 VS Luke Cage’s Avengers. Deodato certainly draws the hell out of it. I’ve said it before, but really wish Bendis would have left Osborn on the shelf and come up with something new rather than just revisit already-trod ground. Bringing back the Thor clone really drives the point home.

THE AVENGERS #22—Really, Obama? We’re going to make overtures to Osborn, now? I think if Bendis hadn’t already announced that this is his homestretch, if these runs still seemed open-ended, I would bail. But there are just another couple dozen+ $4 singles before he takes his bow. Of course, they’ll get Hickman and I’ll be on the hook for another five+ years.

****

BEST OF WEEK: GLORY #23—A revelation. As much as I’ve been digging on Azzarello/Chiang’s reboot, this is probably the best single issue of WONDER WOMAN that I’ve ever read. Joe Keatinge pulls the seemingly impossible trick of not throwing out any of the character’s existing continuity, folding in the Alan Moore tweaks, and then making it his own streamlined version, all of this delivered in a manner that perfectly balances new-reader-friendly exposition with a combination of scenes that propel the action forward. And that doesn’t even count the nine-panel scene wherein, through dialogue alone, she basically cuts Supreme’s dick off and then flies away. And Ross Campbell. What a guy. I’ve never run across his work before, but it is thunder on every level. You just need a glance at that opening shot of her punching the tank to know. This dude is, among many other things, the Anti-Benes. Which is perfect for this book. I mean, think about it. This character, along with maybe Lady Death, represents the absolute nadir of comic book storytelling in the 90s. All Liefeld did was take Wonder Woman, chop a couple inches off her skirt, blow her bust size up to two or three times of its original level, and send her out into the world to bring home some money from pre-Internet fanboys titillated by all of that skin. By grafting on to the character just a bit of the whole fascination-with-mortals thing that keeps Thor hopping over that Rainbow Bridge, as well as playing down the soft curvy feminine cheesecake aspect in favor of emphasizing that she’s a bruiser who could straight up clean Supreme’s clock, Keatinge/Campbell perform one of the most improbable character rehabilitations of all time. Really impressed with this and PROPHET, Liefeld could not have hired better guys for the job.