10/24/12

BATMAN INCORPORATED #4—And we’re back into the homestretch of Morrison Batman. This follow-up to last month’s setup is nothing more or less than a blitzkrieg assault by several members of the Incorporated team to rescue “Matches Malone” from custody, which is glorious because we get pages and pages of Burnham drawing a fight scene. I’m not crazy about the Wingman identity reveal and it is quite a shame to see Bruce buckle at the end and give Talia what she wants, even if it winds up being for show. This issue was good fun but probably blew me away less than any of the previous three, though we’re in very good hands for next month, every single page of 666 Damian Batman has been nothing but teeming madness, and I can’t wait to see what Burnham pulls out next.

FLASH #13—Big fun and hijinx abound as Flash teams with the Rogues against the hordes of Grodd’s invading army. Grodd totally just ripped Trickster’s arm off! Did not see that one coming before the page-turn, these boys are trying to get in good with CCO Geoff Johns. More strong layout work from Manapul, he really has a masterful command of the page flow. Wish he and the aforementioned Johns would have hung out longer on ADVENTURE COMICS, that business was just getting started. The last page is too much fun, if that one doesn’t do it for you, I’m not really sure what you’re expecting from this title.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #13—They ought to change the name of this bad boy to JUSTICE LEAGUE VERTIGO. No reason not to. Lemire continues to shoehorn The Green & Red in every place he can possibly make it happen, with Black Orchid in this case. Mikel Janin, Victor Drujiniu, and Ulises Arreola again produce lush breathtaking vistas. That shot of Deadman tumbling down into Thorn is pretty ridiculous. And of course, now that we’ve met him in the zero-issue, Nick Necro struts right back into the situation the very next month. “sdrawkcab cigam dliehs” is the perfect gamestopper against Zatanna. I’m really a sucker for The House of Mystery chasing The House of Secrets through Limbo, these people really know what they’re doing, here. It’s a good thing that Dr. Mist’s narrative caption didn’t show up until the last page, because I had the Reverend Al Green singing in my head for the rest of the issue.

FABLES #122—Now, this is more like it. After what felt like three issues too long last arc, we return with Gene Ha filling in on an old legend of a pre-Fabletown Big Bad Wolf narrated in flowery prose by Ambrose, many years after growing up and presumably having a quarter-cub or two of his own. Bigby, a long time ago, remember, learns that in three days’ time, he is going to meet a monster that is his equal and die. How can he combat this fate? Tune in next month!

THE UNWRITTEN #42—Well, that’s a relief about that one person. This continues to entertain with embedded narratives as the entire beast slouches toward that inevitable THE END.

MULTIPLE WARHEADS #1—All right, prior to this, I was only familiar with Graham’s work on PROPHET, so this came as something of a revelation to me. What detail, what density! And 48 pages, no ads, for four bucks? Unstoppable. After making my way through the first half of KING CITY, this is obviously a clear extension of Graham’s solo work (now, in glorious color!), but it is no less impressive upon viewing with a somewhat more seasoned eye. The man packs an insane amount of thought and hyperdetail into several vistas and long shots of shelves or throne rooms, but nothing ever looks overrendered, no line is wasted, it’s all in service of verisimilitude, making the world on the page breathe and seem as real as this one we’ve got right here. There is plenty of overlap with PROPHET in terms of the same devil-may-care any-crazy-damn-thing-can-fall-out-of-the-sky sort of attitude, but it’s much more wrapped up in the aesthetic established by KING CITY. This possibly takes place in the same world? Quality comics, right here, people, this would take BEST OF WEEK just about any other week if it didn’t have the deck stacked so hard against it.

PROPHET #30—More greatness from the best science fiction comic on the rack. Old Man Prophet and his crew run afoul of a distinguished clan of Jinnah but pick up a new member in the form of Rein-East, Orphaned Assassin. Diehard continues to transcend his origins and provide comic relief while somehow simultaneously being awesome, a triumphant circle all the way back to his shoulder-pad origins. Wonderful to get Graham pages, if only for the final three-page chapter. This book is a perpetual delight and thrill.

AVENGERS #32—There’s still not nearly enough going on here for Bendis’s last ride around the mansion. Or tower, whatever you like. But this very much reads like he’s stretched thin, too deep into writing the fourth and seventh issues of ALL-NEW X-MEN that he doesn’t pack enough thunder per issue into the home-stretch of the longest run in this franchise’s history. And it’s a shame. There are a couple of nice moments, Spidey heckling Professor Logan and Jan kissing each one of them, armor and all, but I thought there was going to be some shit with Ultron? Maybe drawn by Hitch? Isn’t all of this ending next month? Really hoping we get nothing but The Business from this direction for November.

BEST OF WEEK: FF #23—Was there ever any doubt? Jonathan Hickman at long last brings his run to a close, a winding beast spanning not only 31 issues of the main title but a 5-issue mini-series kickstart while we waited for Millar/Hitch to finally finish up, as well as this glorious spinoff that actually replaced The World’s Greatest Comics Magazine for its first year, subbing in as FANTASTIC FOUR #s 589-99 before they brought the original back for the inevitable anniversary milestone but let this one run as a complementary title featuring the Future Foundation, the gang of genuises Reed assembled as the premiere 616 think-tank. Nick Dragotta and Cris Peter are excellent choices to draw this epilogue. While Eaglesham and Epting and Kitson and Stegman here in the homestretch have all excelled in depicting the mindblowing cosmic panoramas that serve as the backdrop for our First Family’s adventures, this team in particular has done beautiful work showing us the quiet moments, the subtle nuances of a raised eyebrow or half-smile that speak volumes about the impossible intricacies that lie at the heart of every single family dynamic. While he leaves the Future Foundation intact (it will be interesting to see what, if anything, Fraction will do with it, he’s certainly my first and only choice of any of the Marvel heavies to run with it)(though I would also be interested to see what Aaron would do with them, after strolling through the halls of The Jean Grey Institute for Higher Learning), Hickman does resolve several of the main plot points that he has set in motion over the course of his run. With all of the madness between the Inhumans and Kree behind us, and having already brought the Future Valeria/Uncle Doom/Grandfather Nathaniel situation to a close two weeks ago in the main title, all that’s left is Future Franklin Richards, the best mentor an Omega-level cosmic-scale mutant could have: himself. I was admittedly going into this completely prepared to lose my shit, but Val’s parting line on the third page really laid me out. And respect to Clayton Cowles on that, it definitely called for two word balloons, perfect rhythm. And then the romp through Franklin’s baby universe, followed by the talk with his future self and sister. “Creating is harder than knowing” is as profound of a maxim as I’ve run across in any medium. So so true. Of course, you have to follow that one up with dinosaurs and cowboys and Jell-O knights. I feel like I missed something on the last encounter with Leech. Has the little fellow been dissembling all of this time, never really afraid, just lonely? Or did Future Frank imbue him with courage in that no-dialogue pedal, a Jedi mind-trick? That last shot of Val waving goodbye broke my heart, her tiny little face and big sad eyes containing all that brilliance. Followed up by drinks with Uncles Ben & Johnny and that magnificent nostalgic story of the fake future. Though it would have been nice for an out-of-costume Peter Parker to have been the fourth man at the table, he never really got to take his last bow, and Hickman did so much so well with him. I guess there was no room, not sure where to squeeze him in on those two pages. Everything sings. And we have to end with Reed and Sue, who are powerless not to crash down their parental borders and just straight up ask their kid whether they screwed up or not, in a manner that manages to be eloquent and direct and, most importantly, ring true. Franklin answers the only way that he can and says goodbye, and so must we, goodbye to this incredible ride that has thrilled our minds and quickened our breath and broken our hearts and reminded us what it is we love about not just comic books but stories themselves, stories of any kind, the very best ones, their raw power to take you outside of yourself and excite with the possibility of the unimagined and incomprehensible while revealing something about who you are that you didn’t realize and never would have known if you hadn’t gone out on the adventure and let it transform you, change you into the person you always were who just needed a little bit of help to manifest and materialize and carry you along to the next place, the next story that you were always meant to write for yourself.