3/12/14

This is the SXSW edition, meaning I did not start reading these until three in the morning on Thursday, but I did the best that I could!

BATMAN #29 — Um. That has got to be the grimmest GCPD recruitment poster imaginable. Snyder’s retcon reason for the Waynes to go see the movie works for me with the pertinent conversation passing the test of seeming not like a writer trying to shoehorn in his own pet ideas and “what shoulda happened” but instead the result of organic character-driven plot advancement. I wasn’t really a fan of referencing Miller’s “Goddamn Batman” over that gorgeous splash of the Bat-dirigible, but it certainly is a nice touch for Capullo to then reference the shot of Bruce in the Bat-tank from THE DARK KNIGHT TRIUMPHANT in the very next panel. Very cute. That shot of the silhouette and lightning a few pages later should not have come as a surprise to anybody. Just a hell of an image. Capullo/Miki/Plascencia continue to blow it up every single chance they get. I was, in particular, digging on the softened color tones for that opening flashback. Snyder’s doing a great job overall here as usual, though I did experience a breaking point when the monstrous Doctor Death, whose mutated limbs were wrapped around the railing on the deck of the airship, went into the looooong anecdote about the song “Tokyo Moon” and his family’s history with the serious storm crashing down all around them. I could no longer suspend my disbelief. Had no problem with Batman making the impossible seventy-foot leap between ships, did not even blink at that. But that particular monologue seemed a bit overwrought and silly. Regardless, at only $4.99, we get a full double-sized forty pages of absolutely gorgeous story, the best value you’re going to find this week.

BEST OF WEEK: BATMAN: LI’L GOTHAM #12 — Man. A fairly crushing bit of business, right here. The plight of animal-loving still-deceased-in-regular-continuity Damian Wayne searching high and low for his missing pet turkey Jerry during the final weeks of November is a rough one. Sandwich Day, indeed. A gaggle of silly food-related puns ensue during the slugfest with Condiment King and his Food Fighters, and it isn’t really until the very final installment, “Our Family Album,” that Nguyen and Fridolfs start yanking out all of our heartstrings by the page. Damian tries to go all Mission: Impossible but is no match for Alfred and his scissors. We are then treated to a speculative montage as to what exactly Batman might be getting up to on this particular evening that runs quite the spectrum, a fraction of which is attached to the left. But it turns out our hero is just out doing good deeds. The shot of he and Gordon enjoying their coffees on the roof of Police Headquarters does a nice job encapsulating what I love about the style that Nguyen went with for this series. This entire run coming down to Alfred and Damian looking through an album of family photographs is just perfect, I cannot think of a more heartfelt and beautiful way to bring the curtain down on this wonderful series. Because Bruce Wayne could not do what he does without his family. First, he only had Alfred, but then one by one, he has brought so many lost souls under his wing who have saved him as much as he has saved them. The final panel of Bruce tucking in an exhausted Alfred who is still clutching the family album, the living document that all of the memories that these good people have made with one another, giving the smallest measure of comfort to the man who has raised him since he was eight years old, that is one of the most heartfelt and powerful images that I have been lucky enough to get knocked out by in some time. I am really really going to miss this one, loved to read it five times to my little girl every month, am so grateful for these twelve issues and will treasure them for all time.

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EAST OF WEST #10 — Is it just me or did a hell of a lot happen in this issue? I guess it’s just because so much went down and we finally made it back to the main narrative, but this one was crammed so full, it felt double-sized on the first read. Serious advancement/plot development and I’m doing my best to just roll with all of that emboldened italicized lettering as just part of the staccato rhythm of the book. Dragotta/Martin elevate their game here, which should not have been possible, really incredible work page after page after page. I still wish Hickman would spend a little bit more time lavishing characterization on more of his ensemble. Wolf gets just a little bit here, which highlighted to me the overall dearth of it throughout the cast thus far. Checking back in with Xiaolian would mitigate that to a great degree. Best issue since #5, no problem. And a nice touch to pay off #6 on the last page.

STAR WARS #15 — Kind of a set-up issue as we check back in with the Rebel Alliance and Leia’s impending marriage. I assumed we’d get Carlos D’Anda back in the fold but Stéphane Créty does a terrific job holding it down in a stylistically appropriate manner. Luke somehow got a bit more petulant and whiny during the break, but I guess that’s what happens when your serious crush/unknown twin-sister is about to marry herself off for the good of the galaxy.

ASTRO CITY #10 — Winged Victory’s arc finally comes to a close not amidst a flurry of fisticuffs but through well considered inner monologues that put character front and center. Solid work from one of the most consistently rewarding superhero titles on the rack.

FANTASTIC FOUR #002 — All right, I’m on board with this story, but I hope we’re not going to get hammered with “The sad, bitter end of the Fantastic Four” over and over and over. It’s already seeming a bit belabored here on the first page of the second issue. And, oh whoa, Franklin, don’t let’s bring up HEROES REBORN, hey? Some of us are still trying to forget. I don’t know, man. Kirk’s art is terrific, but I’m still not sold on Robinson. This is so far feeling way too doom-and-gloomy, more in line tonally with The New 52 or the shenanigans Nolan and lately Snyder have been getting up to with the DC guys than the Silver Age bleeding-edge science glory sweetness where this book lives. Johnny shedding a tear on the last page kind of says it all. I think I’m giving this one more month and if everybody’s still clutching themselves and weeping as it’s all crashing down around them, will probably just head on back to the immortal Kirby run.

WOLVERINE #003 — Feh, Stegman is still a beast on art (especially that last page, damn), but I’m really not a fan of the pity party that Cornell is throwing for Logan. With no end in sight. Now, they’re hyping that they’re going to kill our protagonist. Time, I think, to pull the ripcord on this particular parachute. I did enjoy Cornell working an “Eh?” into Logan’s dialogue.

ALL-NEW X-MEN #024 — Now, we’re really getting to it here. When this crossover was announced, it seemed like a blatant move to have a hardcover collection ready for when the Guardians movie bows, and surely it is, but Bendis has of course done a terrific job mining the considerable overlap between these two books’ shared ideaspace. It’s insane how much Claremont was able to pack in there back in the day. This book continues to feature some of the best ensemble characterization and bedazzling art on the rack. Bendis deftly juggles the voices and interaction between all members of both teams and even manages to work in a Season Four ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT quote from Kitty, who naturally binge-watched the entire thing the weekend it uploaded on Netflix. And Immonen/von Grawbadger/Gracia, I’m really running out of things to say about them. Stunning work every single time. We’re left with a logical reversal for our cliffhanger that is earned and has me on pins and needles for the final installment.

HAWKEYE #017 — Futz! When this crew needs an inventory issue, they go for it. Two revolving teams have not been able to keep this book on schedule between them and so Steve “Hawkguy No More” Wacker digs deep and enlists letter-par-excellence Chris Eliopoulos to draw an entire issue based on the cartoon show that Clint sat down to doze of in front of at the end of #006. Which sounds ridiculous but is, in fact, glorious. Eliopoulos is no stranger to sequentials, of course. His FRANKLIN RICHARDS, SON OF A GENIUS is a staple at our house and COW BOY was also a pretty well received release, I believe. And the ubiquitous Jordie Bellaire makes her series debut to lend colors that are pleasing to the eye while staying flat enough to blend with what we’ve come to expect from Hollingsworth. I love the “MY NIGHTMARES ARE TURNING REAL!!” line. Fraction does a great job grafting the main aspects of this book onto a children’s adventure starring animals with the dingoes of course being the most hilarious example. Dog. At the end of the day, this book is nothing more or less than a romp, entertaining in its own right while serving as a very creative way to beat them ol’ deadline blues.