Quick Thoughts on New Comics

Well, mostly new. Two of these are from last week's pull but they're still on the shelves.

Helmet of Fate: Zauriel #1 - DC (2007)


I've always had trouble reconciling the Christian mythos with the DC Universe. Apparently, so does Steve Gerber. It's like he can't decide whether to play it straight or to camp it up or to make a statement about faith, dogma and reality. There are elements of all these things in this issue and they add up to a diffuse mess. Peter Snejbjerg is a good artist but his work on this book isn't helping Gerber's script. It doesn't seem to fit with any of the attempted tones and, in fact, confuses things further. The horror elements did not come off as scary and the "people exploding messily" section had no emotional impact. I liked all the other Helmet books but this one felt empty.

X-Factor #16 - Marvel (2007)


This one deals with Christianity, too. Sort of. It has a tense, touching story about Madrox retrieving one of his duplicates. Also, Siryn and Monet blow up big chunks of Paris. You could read the Madrox part of this without having read the previous issue. Good stuff from Peter David and Pablo Raimondi

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #27 - DC (2007)


This title seems to have lost its focus since Supergirl showed up but it's still a fun read. This issue has more superpowered beings than you can shake a Durlan in the form of a stick at. Lots of stuff blows up and robots turn on their fleshy masters.

Newuniversal #4 - Marvel (2007)


Holy crap, this title is good. Warren Ellis is at his best when writing science fiction. This is an epic tale of people suddenly burdened with powers and technology beyond their current understanding. I know that's also the plot of countless superhero stories back to the beginning of time but this one leans heavily toward the SF end of the spectrum. They have let Ellis run with this storyline and it kicks ass.

This issue moved more slowly than I wanted it to, however. Some of the scenes could have been compressed. I have no complaints about the story itself. I am intrigued and entertained.

And Salvador Larroca's art! It is so beautiful and it fits the story so well that I can't say anything more. It's simply beautiful. Check it out below. Larroca's just painting a bedroom there. A goddamn bedroom! And it's one of the finest pages I've ever seen in a comic book.