4/09/14

BATMAN ETERNAL #1 — I have been particularly looking forward to this after this writing team’s #28 over on BATMAN. Even though I was most anticipating the time-jumping aspects of the premise that I presume will factor in to a greater extent later on, this issue delivers on every level. Jason Fabok, if anything, has raised his game from his work with Layman over on DETECTIVE. Good looking spreads and panelwork throughout. It seems like they maybe shouldn’t have plastered that two-page spread all over the back of every DC comic last week, it would have been a much greater impact if we hadn’t already all seen it, but it’s still a powerful moment. A strong debut.

ASTRO CITY #11 — It takes a few pages for us to figure out what we’re doing here, though of course it’s no surprise to longtime readers. Our narrator is the personal assistant to The Silver Adept, who seems to be a Zatanna analogue. The line at the bottom of Page Four cracked me up: “Still, this story isn’t about her, not really. It’s about . . .” Well, of COURSE it isn’t about her, that’s never how it works in this book! It’s always the schmoes. That used to drive me insane in the nineties, “Wait wait, no our guy’s flying away, we want to go with him, HIM! Why are we staying with this innocent bystander?” Busiek and Anderson have of course mined that premise for solid gold time and time again. I would love to see an arc or even anthology spinoff of nothing but the anti-premise, stories that only focused on the heroes or villains. Though I suppose that the recent Winged Victory arc had a hero as protagonist as opposed to a usual civilian. Not to disparage how effectively these gentlemen execute the concept. This might be my favorite issue of this latest volume. Immediately engaging and original work throughout.

SAVAGE DRAGON #194 — Larsen once again brings the justice, opening with another five-page flashback scene featuring a double-page splash that is pretty breathtaking. As is the one later in the book when dude throws a building at Our Hero. The focus on Malcolm continues to infuse this series with a new vitality, creating situations and tensions that weren’t possible with his dad as the lead. The overall quality of these issues is so high, I shudder to think of what Larsen is building toward for #200.

KICK-ASS 3 #7 — We get a bit of a surprising plot-twist here as Millar/Romita Jr. accelerate into the homestretch. The page with the Shakespeare head leading to the Hit-poles is truly one for the ages, just terrific material. I have to say, I was surprised at the extent of emotion that I felt during Dave & Mindy’s final conversation. It definitely seems like one or both of them aren’t going to make it, and I’m going to be sorry about that. Particularly if it’s Hit-Girl. Though that’s more due to Chloe Grace Moretz’s thunderous work with the character than anything.

STAR WARS #16 — This one fell a bit flat for me. I don’t feel like Stéphane Créty’s work is quite up to snuff, and this latest arc isn’t moving me that much in general. Bring back Carlos D’Anda and the great sweeping space opera!

EAST OF WEST #11 — Well, yeah. I’ve been saying. Bring back Xiaolian and this thing will get humming right back along again. Hickman is building toward something big here and it seems like he’s only just getting started. This is another one packed so densely with quality material that it felt like an over-sized issue while I was reading it. Next issue’s summit should be fairly monumental. Nick Dragotta continues to turn in jaw-dropping work that is massive in scope and cinematic as hell.

ALL-NEW X-MEN #025—Hard to believe that we’ve already rocketed through twenty-five of these. This is an art-jam issue and Editorial has indeed assembled quite a crew. David Marquez and Justin Ponsor return (at last!) to illustrate a framing sequence of Hank McCoy in bed on a dark and stormy night, feeling bad about inciting the whole premise of this book, which he totally shouldn’t because it’s a wonderful series, but he’s talking to a bald guy in silhouette who, in that first shot in Panel Three, TOTALLY LOOKS LIKE BENDIS. Which really cranked things up for me and made me read this issue totally differently on the first pass. I mean, Bendis goes all meta-Morrison and inserts himself into the narrative. Surely the pissants who moan over the perpetual rat-a-tat-tat of Bendis’s Mamet-derived exchanges of dialogue will be driven insane by this latest wrinkle! Because this entire issue is just those two guys talking about stuff while the cavalcade of artists throws it down. Bruce Timm is a major get all by himself, not even counted being colored by Laura Martin, the perfect choice to illustrate teen Jean in her Marvel Girl years. Though his Dark Phoenix lacks a bit of the ominous, it must be said. I’m a little confused by who draws what page; if you go by the order of the credits (and why wouldn’t you?) then Timm/Martin only do that first Jean page and the second one where she’s all dark and evil on a throne of dudes is by Art Adams. Only it looks just like more Timm and, by definition, nothing like Art Adams. But the next page is certainly Brother David Mack, there’s no getting around that, producing another gorgeous painting of Scott completely losing his shit (which was also Marco Rudy’s last page of UNCANNY #018, now that I think about it; a rough couple of years for Scottie, here lately). And speaking of Skotties, wonderful to have the OZ artist show up to depict Bobby’s powers running amok. Marte Gracia’s only page of the book is coloring Lee Bermejo’s incredible Colossus, quite the stout bit of business, there. Then it looks like Art Adams finally shows up a couple of pages later with the Ka-Zar sequence. I think? But then can’t find what would be J.G. Jones. I don’t know. I dug the sequence of cartoonier strips by indie folks I’ve never heard of, that was a cool way to go. And, of course, wonderful to get Paul Smith back in the fold, if only for a page. Really wish he would sign up to pencil a full issue of interiors. Surely Bendis has a Logan-and-Kitty-return-to-Japan one-shot in him. We all do, yeah? All told, this is an entertaining series of riffage, not really advancing the plot in any concrete way but clearly the calm before whatever storm Bendis has set to crack loose over us and these poor mutants who, I’m starting to doubt are really ever going to be able to fit in and find tolerance living among the humans, you know?

BEST OF WEEK: DAREDEVIL #1.50 — So it’s one-point-fifty, not one-point-five? Even if you’re supposed to drop the zero from the hundredths place? And if this is some sort of fiftieth anniversary spectacular, why didn’t the FF, Spidey, Iron Man, Hulk, X-Men, Avengers, etc get the same treatment? Well, it’s a little bit late to be looking for logic in the manner in which Marvel numbers their issues of late. All right. I have got to confess that I felt a dash of annoyance when I saw this in my Pull. I mean, we juuust relaunched, they finally did the inevitable cover-price markup. It seems much too soon to bust out a milestone anniversary issue like this. Particularly when there’s no precedent, as noted above. But this series has been nothing but quality from Page One, and there’s no reason to expect that to change. So, I paid my five dollars and am so glad that I did. We open with the latest episode from Waid /Rodriguez. Which you can in no way dismiss as “more of the same” because it very well might be better than every single issue from their first volume. The comparison might not be entirely fair because this one’s got a hell of a premise suggested by Wacker on his way out the door: instead of doing the usual retro lookback at times gone by, flash-forward to Matt at Age 50 and tell that story. Waid accepts the challenge and knocks it right out of the park, producing a story that’s not only a “perfect jumping-on point!” but an incredibly compelling glimpse into the future when taken on its own, all while managing the neat trick of dropping all kinds of foreshadowing bombs on events that haven’t even started to develop in the present-day series. Matt becomes mayor right after moving to SF? And hands off the suit to “you-know-who?!” And presumably marries Kristen, the presumed mother-of-his-child and current mayor? Or is it another woman? Before the plane crashes, it almost sounds like Matt’s about to say that he and the mother never would have met if he hadn’t been elected mayor. But then we get a solid adventure and an excellent last beat. Waid continues to excel and Javier Rodriguez turns in another beautiful series of interior pages.

Okay. And so but then, I have a confession. I’ve never read all of Bendis/Maleev’s run. I know, I know, it’s wonderful. It’s where many people fell in love with Bendis. I actually bought #26 when it came out and didn’t think that the last page had enough of a hook to warrant a return. Which shows how discerning I am. I certainly dug the hell out of that first year when I devoured it a couple/three years later (of course, I believe that that was the night that I drove to Dallas by myself to see the Foo Fighters/Red Hot Chili Peppers co-headline a show supporting ONE BY ONE and CALIFORNICATION and then I sat up in my hotel room with a twelve-pack of Lone Star crushing the entire hardcover in a single sitting, so I was definitely already in a really good mood that night, it probably need not be said), but by that time, I was so far behind I never caught up and instead jumped on with Brubaker/Lark, but that was that. So. This second story, I feel like I might be missing something? Some level of continuity? Maybe not. I’m certainly ignorant, have never heard of Stana Morgan. Maybe no one has. It doesn’t matter. Because this piece worked. On every level. Bendis nails the first-person voice. Maleev’s illustrations are, of course, perfect. With no idea of whether or not I’m supposed to already know this person, this story completely succeeds solely on its own merits. Heartbreaking.

And after that serious blast of darkness, the only cure is to veer things back in to the near side of Waid, even goofier nonsense than the first issues of his run as Karl Kesel and his Donald Kaufmanesque twin guide us through a video supposedly filmed in the halcyon days of Mike Murdock when Stan Lee & Gene Colan were apparently dropping the batshit crazy times every single month. All told, this is a very well done anniversary issue that does a tremendous job celebrating only a few aspects of the rich legacy that is the character’s past, the recent present as chronicled by Bendis/Maleev, and then even the present-day team giving us a very enticing glimpse of the near-future and what’s in store for the Man Without Fear in the months to come.