A few comics reviews, A bunch of pictures

The last three weeks have been really heavy as far as Comics I Want. Here's what I've read most recently. Click images to embiggen.

The Un-Men #1 - Vertigo (2007)
This is actually a review of Un-Men #1 and #2 because this thing is on a release schedule to rival 52! #3 is in my house now but I haven't read it yet. The fact that I bought the third issue should tell you that I like the series. 'Cause, y'know, I do.

There are so many ways this story could have gone wrong and John Whalen avoided all of them. Revamps of old, weird comic characters are always hit-or-miss propositions but this one brings the right stuff together in the proper way. Getting Mike Hawthorne to draw the thing doesn't hurt, either.

The premise is that Anton Arcane's original Un-Men are at the center of an entire town of freaks. It's like that episode of the X-Files times the Jim Rose Show plus the cast of Deliverance. The characters are interesting and (no pun intended) well fleshed out. There's a murder mystery along with a few freak-related subplots and an albino DOE agent who is becoming my favorite new DC character. Whalen even managed to work reality shows into the plot in way that doesn't suck! Now, that's writing.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #1 - DC (2007)
From the first time I encountered Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters I have hated the characters. It's an irrational hatred but it's seeds are in the way Uncle Sam talks. I know it's supposed to be folksy or something but I can't stand the bastard. The Freedom Fighters have always seemed to be a square peg that DC keeps trying to pound into a round hole.

When I read that Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray were writing a miniseries about them, my hatred flagged a bit. Palmiotti and Gray are in my top ten list of comics writers and they are putting out some excellent stuff, lately. Well, they can't all be gold. Even without characters I loathe, this is not a very good story. It's disjointed and seems to be going in too many directions for a mere eight issues to cover.

The big event in this issue is that there's a split among the members of the team who are willing to become leg-breakers for the government and the ones who aren't. It's like some kind of Civil War! Not even Palmiotti and Gray can make me interested in this kind of tale. Also, the ones who stay get press agents. I am well past the point where I think superheroes as real-world-type celebrities are interesting. Needless to say, I won't pick up issue #2.

Action Comics #856 - DC (2007)
Do you like Bizarro? Buy this issue and #855 and you won't be disappointed. Do you like Eric Powell's art? See above. I always enjoy seeing Powell's cover work but I really like it when he does an entire book. See also: The Goon.

This storyline is tailor-made for Powell's style. This is a dark, creepy Bizarro story which is only made darker and creepier by all of the weird-ass stuff that happens on Bizarro world. Powell is the go-to guy for creepy, dark, and silly. Also, Geoff Johns and Richard Donner are writing it so it's in good hands. Bizarro has kidnapped Pa Kent and trapped him on Bizarro world. Wacky hijinks ensue but there is this terrible sense of danger and impending violent death throught out the story. I'll stick with Action as long as this storyline continues and I may keep up with it after that.

Immortal Iron Fist Annual #1 - Marvel (2007)
First I need to make it clear that Immortal Iron Fist #9 is awesome. The series still kicks ass and you should go out and buy all of the issues.

You should also buy the Annual. It's too bad that you can't just buy half of it, though, because some of the art is awful. I hate to say that because Howard Chaykin is one of my favorite artists but his work on this issue is terrible. Not only does it not fit with the tone of the issue, it's just bad.

Now, on to the positive stuff which is everything else. The story begins a few minutes after issue #9 and leads directly into #10. Iron Fist takes a break from the Tournament of Awesomeness in order to research stuff about his predecessor so he can level up and learn how to shoot flaming skulls out of his hands. This means that the issue is really about Orson Randall and his adventures during the early twentieth century. There's tons of pulpy goodness and the art in those sections by Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic is spot on! Everybody looks like they jumped off the cover of a lurid pulp novel. There's nothing essential to enjoying the main series but there are some very entertaining bits with Randall and his fellow Confederates of the Curious.

See below for examples of the jarring differences in artistic styles. The first one is Chaykin's work, followed by Djurdjevic's. Click to enlarge.

New Comics!

I'm a bit behind on my comic-book reading right now so these are not the freshest of reviews. Although, I've got to say that as problems go, having a surplus of comics to read is one I will gladly accept. Click on the cover images to see bigger versions. Especially the Scarlet Witch cover. That thing is beautiful.


Immortal Iron Fist #8 - Marvel (2007)

If you've read my previous reviews of this title you know that I like it as much as it is possible for a human to like a comic book. Issue #8 is an excellent place to begin reading this series if you haven't seen any of the earlier issues. If you like martial arts, good writing, excellent art, cool characters, and, y'know, fun you will like Immortal Iron Fist. Fraction and Brubaker have further expanded the Iron Fist mythology by making K'un L'un one of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. Each city appears in the mortal plane on a different schedule but once every eighty-eight years the appearances converge and they celebrate with a kickass martial-arts tournament! Oh. My. God. That is the most awesome idea ever. The first fight (which will, of course, feature our hero) happens next issue while this one sets up the tournament beautifully.

Check out this post to see a couple of preview images Marvel released. The writers are thinking BIG with this story and I can't think of anyone better than David Aja to turn their ideas into pictures. When someone asks me what comics to read I mention this one first.

The Brave and the Bold #6 - DC (2007)

Here's another comic book I recommend to people. Mark Waid and George Pérez are a dream team. Unlike the Iron Fist issue above, this is not a good jumping-on point for this series because it's the last installment of a universe-spanning story arc. Next issue, however, will start a new one so keep your eyes peeled. See what I did, there? There's a dude with a big eye for a head on the cover and I said...

Ahem. Sorry.

I will now talk about the series as a whole rather than this specific issue (which is excellent and wraps up the story very well):

The Brave and the Bold is a fun, well-crafted series created by two guys with planet-sized storehouses of comics knowledge and experience in their heads. My favorite part of the series is the interactions between the characters who are teaming up. For example, the Blue Beetle/Batman meeting was one of the funniest things I've ever read and it showed the differences and similarities between them economically. Waid is one of my favorite writers because he knows when to let the pictures do the talking and when to throw in the awesome dialogue. So, either pick up the trade which should be out soon or grab issue #7. Or, y'know, both.

Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 #1 - Archaia (2007)

Hooray, another Mouse Guard story! This one snuck up on me. I had heard that David Petersen was putting out another limited series but I didn't know what the release date was. So, this was a pleasant surprise. If you missed the first Mouse Guard story, it's a medieval tale of the brave mice who protect rodentkind with their blades and wits. This story involves two teams of mice who are traveling through deep snows and freezing winds to secure food and medicine for their home town. The characters are interesting and the story is full of adventure. Prior knowledge of the Mouse Guard universe is not necessary for enjoyment of this excellent tale. These mice are cool.

The Programme #2 - Wildstorm (2007)

The first issue of this series started off with a bang. The second issue has a couple of points where it drags the story to a screeching halt while it inserts infodumps and pontifications which is a shame because this is a hell of a story. The slow spots don't ruin the series, however. The art fits the writing and once this issue gets back on track it continues to flesh out one of the most interesting ideas I've run across in a long time.

In short: The Allies confiscated a fetus from a NAZI lab near the end of WWII. This fetus was going to be a super soldier for the Axis but the U.S. decided to keep him for their own use. One of the scientists thought that might not be such a good idea so he inadvertently assisted the super soldier in his escape. Now the government has tracked down the super soldier and wants him to fight this foreign badass who is screwing up stuff for them overseas. And there are explosions.

Dynamo 5 #6 - Image (2007)

This one continues to be fun and well done. The story by Jay Faerber about a bunch of people who discover that they are the kids of a philandering Superman-type hero is original and fun but it's Mahmud A. Asrar's art that really makes this book shine. Asrar has a dynamic style which is perfect for a book with this much action.

Speaking of action, this issue reveals yet another of Captain Dynamo's children and we get to see what she can do. We also get to see how Maddie, Capt. Dynamo's widow, handles herself in a crisis. An extreme crisis. It's not what I expected and I love it when a comic book surprises me.

Astonishing X-Men #22 - Marvel (2007)

Nice to see this one on the shelves again. I don't mind production delays as long as the product in question is as good as this. I'm not one of those people who thinks Joss Whedon can do no wrong but I do believe he doesn't do very much wrong. When John Cassaday draws the stuff Whedon writes my little geek heart grows three sizes. Whedon's X-Men are as cool as we'd all like to be and they say the things to the bad guys that we want to come up with when we get our mutant powers. He depicts the camaraderie and the conflicts amongst the X-Men with a skilled hand and he puts them in exciting situations where each of them gets to do what he or she does best. Even if that thing isn't very nice.

And that's all I want from an X-Book. See also: Peter David.

Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch #1 - Marvel (2007)

I've enjoyed each of the Mystic Arcana issues. The Black Knight issue was my favorite so far but this story was cool and a lot of fun to read. It's essentially an origin story, telling the tale of the day Wanda Maximoff discovered her powers and was almost invited to join a powerful coven of witches. There are demons, duplicitous fakirs, werewolves, Agatha Harkness and explosions. That's a recipe for a good story if I've ever seen one. As an added bonus, no one kills the Avengers.

Green Lantern Corps #15 - DC (2007)

Mogo is my favorite Green Lantern. Among hardcore GL fans that's probably like saying Peter Criss is your favorite KISS member but if that's how it's gotta be I'll accept it. So, this issue, which is pretty much the Battle For Mogo, is my favorite part of the Sinestro Corps crossover so far. The bad guys send an entire freakin' city after Mogo along with some creepy-ass children and some huge gravity bombs. The rest of the Corps has to deal with the scary, scary Sinestrites and their innovative use of "killing" technology. Weird, wild stuff.

A quick note about this crossover: This is the way it should be done. It's a self-contained story that only affects two titles. I like that. I don't have to chase down a bunch of stuff I wouldn't have bought in the first place and the story is exciting and well told. Good on ya, Sinestro-Corps creators!

Quick thoughts on some stuff I bought

Dynamo 5 #5- Image (2007)

Another good issue. The bad guys are cool and the plot thickens. The writing and art are solid and this issue would not be a bad one to start with as long as you know that the characters are all the children of a Superman-like guy who screwed around a lot. In fact, Image does a really cool thing that I wish more comics would do. The back cover has a few words which state the premise of the book and tell you what's gonna happen in this issue. You can't judge a book by it's cover but the back cover of this one helps you out.

X-Factor #20 - Marvel (2007)



Best issue yet. I really like what Peter David has done with X-Factor. He gets the characters (especially Madrox, Siryn and Monet) and he can tell the hell out of a story. His run on this title has an excellent combination of "What cool thing can I do with this person's powers" and "What awesome story can I tell with these characters". This book nearly makes the whole House of M thing worth it. I miss Ryan Sook's art but Khoi Pham and Sandu Florea complement David's stories beautifully.

Green Lantern Corps #13 - DC (2007)



Here's another title which has turned in its best issue yet. I am a HUGE Green Lantern Corps fan and I have really enjoyed this book. Dave Gibbons has put a really cool collection of Lanterns together so they can use their various strengths to solve the Big Problem. The big problem this time involves Mogo who is one of my favorite Lanterns. His partner is a little fly dude! How awesome is that?

Sinestro Corps Special #1 - DC (2007)



This one didn't knock my socks off but it's still a really entertaining read. I'm a sucker for "mirror universe" characters. Sinestro has summoned the scariest mofos in the universe to be his new Corps. Seriously. The main criterion for membership in the Yellow Ring Brigade is the ability to instill great fear. Batman was on the list. I'm not going to pick up all of the related titles but I will follow the story because it's a lot of fun.

Faker #1 of 6 - Vertigo (2007)



This is a story about a bunch of college students who have weird stuff happen to them. The story is pretty cool but I don't like any of the main characters. This could be a problem. It's possible that they might do something with all these annoying character flaws. If they do, I'll stick with it.

Jonah Hex #21 - DC (2007)



This is one of those Jonah Hex stories where he's mostly an observer. Those can be as good as the ones where he's just shooting his way through the landscape. In the hands of Gray and Palmiotti it becomes an awesome, chilling tale of vengeance and death. And Jonah metes out bloddy justice all over the place near the end so it's all good.

Runaways #27 - Marvel (2007)



I am seriously digging Joss Whedon's run on this comic. It's fun to read and the stuff that's happening is really neat. The story has taken a turn which allows Whedon to go buck wild with the setting. This issue introduces a bunch of new characters and it sets up a storyline I can't wait to read more of.

A Mess O' Reviews

World War Hulk #1 - Marvel (2007)

Lot's of smashing. Lots of yelling. Hulk vs. Black Bolt followed by Hulk vs. Iron Man. If you came here for explosions and fighting you're in the right place. Hulk's Warbound are cool. I'm already tired of Amadeus Cho. This one stays in my hold box.

Incredible Hulk #107 & Invincible Iron Man #19 - Marvel (2007)



I'm listing these together because they're effectively the SAME DAMN COMIC! Of the two, the Hulk issue has more story in it. The Iron Man issue tries to make Tony seem heroic again but it's too little too late. They're gonna have to reboot the entire character to make him something I want to read again. Too bad the Ultimate version isn't any better. Anyway, I'll pick up the next issue of Hulk but if it's just going to show us stuff that happened in WWH I'll save my money.

The Brave and the Bold #4 - DC (2007)



I was actually surprised to discover that this series is only up to issue 4. The first three issues had so much story crammed into them that I figured we were up to at least #6. The interactions between Supergirl and Lobo are worth the price of admission. We learn more about the maguffin everyone's chasing and we are left with a hell of a setup for next issue's Legion of Super-Heroes appearance. Also, George Pérez drawing Lobo! Out-freaking-standing! This is what I read comics for.

Black Summer #0 - Avatar (2007)



Warren Ellis has come up with a very good story about a superhero who kills the president and then says, "I've got fucking superpowers. Come and get me." The characters are good and the story is off to a great start. Unfortunately, I can't stand Juan Jose Ryp's art. There's no depth to it and there are these distracting, squiggly lines everywhere. I'll flip through issue #1 when it comes out but Ryp's art is what kept me from reading past the second issue of Wolfskin.

Dynamo 5 #4 - Image (2007)



This comic is about five people who discover that their real father is a superhero who just died. This makes for a bummer of a Fathers Day. The characters with adoptive fathers have just as awkward a time as the ones who grew up in orphanages. Jay Faerber and Mahmud A. Asrar turn in another excellent issue. This one is low key and well told.

Stormwatch Post Human Division #8 - Wildstorm (2007)



This one's another low-key issue. The PHD crew get some downtime in the form of a visit to Skywatch. The exposition is well done which makes this issue a good jumping-on point if you haven't read any of the previous issues. The character interactions are fun to read and each character gets a chance to shine. The PHD team are a bunch of badasses and this issue shows us why along with delving further into Stormwatch history. Also, the cliffhanger at the end has me waiting breathlessly for issue #9.

The Tick's 20th Anniversary Special Edition - New England Comics Press (2007)



The various installments in this Tick lovefest range from hilarious to incomprehensible. This is to be expected when over 30 creators are involved in a project. There are more hits than misses, though. If you are a fan of The Tick in any of his incarnations, check this out. The sweet cover by Simon Bisley is worth the price.

Two New Comics, Two Little Reviews

The Spirit #4 - DC (2007)


Darwyn Cooke groks The Spirit. He knows what makes it cool and he's able to put all that coolness into this book. #2 had my favorite cover until this one came along. I am simply blown away by how good this comic is.

Mexico, The Spirit, Octagon/Octopus, a CIA agent named Silk Satin and a dude named Hussein wearing a cowboy hat. Oh, and stuff blows up. Get it if you like fun.

The Brave and the Bold #2 - DC (2007)


This series is chugging along nicely. It's a real superhero tale with people flying all over the freakin' universe and fighting big crime. This one features Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and Supergirl flying to a casino planet to get a future-predicting book out of the wrong hands. WooHoo! Some people are creeped out by Hal's reaction to Supergirl but I thought it was funny and that it addressed the Supergirl-as-sex-object issue well.

This is doing all the things a team-up book should do. It highlights the similarities and differences between the characters and gives each one a chance to shine. Mark Waid and George Pérez make an excellent team.

New Comics Day: Parade of Mediocrity

Three of the mainstream titles in my holdbox were disappointing. Only one of them was bad enough to make me drop the book. Let's start with that one:

Moon Knight #8 - Marvel (2007)



I'm a big Moon Knight fan. He was the first inductee into the Badass Files. I've been enjoying this revival of the character by Charlie Huston and David Finch enough to keep it in my holdbox but no longer.

I read this issue twice and I have no idea what the hell was going on. The dick-swinging contest between MK and Captain America was boring and everything else was just confusing. I'm tired of this demon hallucination thing, I'm tired of the poorly-executed gritty tone and I'm tired of Finch's little-faces-on-big-heads art.


Jonah Hex #17 - DC (2007)



The Tallulah storyline gets wrapped up in a nearly-satisfactory manner. I would have preferred more meat to the story but it hit all its marks. The art is excellent but I liked the visuals from the earlier issues better.

The only big complaint I have about this title is the dialects. Just write actual English words. We get that they're in the old west. We're not going to mistake this for a P. G. Wodehouse story! Drop the occasional "g" but stop with the "yore" and "caint" stuff. You aren't even using them properly half the time.


Green Lantern Corps #10 - DC (2007)



First, the cover. Nothing even remotely like this happens in this issue. I know, I know, it's a comic book. I shouldn't expect a scene from the story but this one doesn't even reflect the tone or theme of the comic.

Speaking of tone and theme, this issue barely had one. It was a disjointed combination of two-and-a-half storylines which will probably get fleshed out in future issues. This wasn't a bad issue it's just that not much happened. The stuff that did happen involved my favorite Lantern, Dr. Natu! The cover of #11 features Natu and her new partner. Looks like fun.

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.

Yesterday's Comics Today!

Here's a quick rundown of my opinions on my latest haul. It was a light week so there aren't many.

New Universal #3 - Marvel (2007)

Salvador Larroca's art continues to blow me away. Warren Ellis is giving Larroca some really good things to draw. This issue establishes more of the history of the world and makes it even cooler than the first two issues did. The extended infodump/argument partway through the book was the only speedbump.

Behold the art!



Johah Hex #16 - DC (2007)


Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are the new Giffen and DeMatteis. They are an awesome writing team with incredible range. They are this close to being on my "I will buy anything by these guys" list. This new story is your typical "woman with incredibly bad life becomes a one-eyed badass" tale and it's off to a damn good start. The art is spectacular, as well. The only thing that keeps me from completely enjoying this book is the way they write western accents. I have no problem with dropping all the final g's but the frequent use of "yore" for "your" is getting on my nerves.


Fell #7 - Image (2007)

This issue has Ben Templesmith's best art yet. Check out the cover:



The interior has more of the same.

Speaking of more of the same, Warren Ellis's writing on this issue is just that. Which is to say it's good. We learn a little more about Snowtown, a little more about Fell and we get to see him out-clever himself. Good stuff all for a buck 99!


Astro City: The Dark Age Book 2 #2 - Wildstorm (2007)


This book gets better with every page. The Apollo Eleven show up and everyone freaks out. Well, as much as anyone in Astro City is able to freak out anymore.

"Another giant spectral figure, you say? Is this one setting anything on fire? Then let it be."

The "everyman" reaction to superhero antics has been done many times but the way the two main characters are hooked into the action makes for a compelling read. Excellent art, too.

New Comics 7/23/05

Ultimate Spider-Man #80



OMGOMGOMG!!!!!

Danny Rand and Moon Knight and Spider-Man all in the same comic at the same time. I can't wait to see Ultimate Iron Fist. He hasn't done anything yet but when he does you just know it's gonna be good! This storyline is going to rule. It will crack the internet in half! It will crush all other storylines with its might!

**ahem**

There, I'm better, now. This was a very good issue with a really nice, tense moment between The Kingpin and Spider-Man. It's the 2nd part of a storyline but you don't really need issue #79 to pick up what's going on. Brian Bendis is losing me on many of the other titles he's writing but US-M continues to be strong. Bendis groks Peter Parker and this title continues to be the one I anticipate the most every month except for Young Avengers.

House of M #4

This issue has my favorite art of the miniseries so far. Especially the first two pages. It does a great job of setting up the alternate-universe Genosha. There were some really confusing visuals throughout this issue and I don't know whether to blame the writer, Brian Bendis, or the artist, Olivier Coipel, for these weird layouts. I shouldn't have to re-read part of a comic book to figure out what's going on. I'm still not sure what happened in one of those sections. The story is getting better and it looks like something might actually happen in the next issue or two.

Freshmen #1

This is the comic that was co-created by Seth Green. It's OK. The premise: 14 college freshmen are housed in the science building. Something Happens and they all get superpowers based on what they were thinking or doing at that moment. The walking stereotypes students have only been introduced at this point and issue #2 will feature more information about their actual abilities. The art's good but the writing is really wooden in places. I'll see if they've worked the kinks out by next month.

New Comics 6/22/05

New Avengers #6: The story is getting muddier and the writing is weaker than on the first five issues. Also, the art looks more Liefeld-y than it did before. I may just be nitpicking the visuals because I was unimpressed by the writing this time. This issue provides the Big Reason for the Avengers to reform. Unfortunately, the details behind the reason seem rather contrived. So, the U.S. government (or a faction thereof) is doing something dastardly and the New Avengers are gonna New Avenge the bunches of people who died because of it, or something.

The problem here is that all of the evidence for this dastardly stuff is either revealed or explained in this issue. They make some references to things that happened earlier but the setup for the big moment seems rushed and tacked on. I have enjoyed the series up to this point and I'll pick up #7 but if the story doesn't tighten up I'll drop it.

House of M #2: I was pretty lukewarm about the first issue of House of M but I really like #2. The art is excellent and the alternate reality (semantics be damned - if it's going to go back to normal it's an alternate reality) is very cool. It's like Magneto's version of the Top Ten setting. Apparently, Logan's powers include the ability to smell cosmic changes to the order of things. I'm definitely picking up #3. My only complaints about this issue involve the pacing of the scene between McCoy and Pym (the two Henrys) and the cover which uses a muted palette when brighter colors would have made the figures stand out better. They're probably saving that for the inevitable variant cover.

Astro City: The Dark Age #1: I've been waiting for this one for quite a while. It wasn't what I expected it to be at all but it is a very engaging story about a pair of non-powered brothers and how they are affected by all of the ca-ray-zee superheroes around them. It distinguishes itself from Marvels and other "regular people reacting to superpowers" comics by focussing on the relationship between the brothers. The art is good and the Alex Ross cover is cool even if it depicts a relatively minor scene. I guess a picture of a couple of guys talking very intensely doesn't just pop off the shelves.

The Iron Ghost #2: Still liking this one. I care about the major characters and I'm even more curious as to why this guy is going around murdering Nazis. Murdering these specific Nazis, that is. The art in #2 is even better than it was in the first issue and we get more of the detectives who are really cool. Chuck Dixon seems to have done his homework on what it was like in Berlin during the constant bombings. Great stuff. The violence (and there's plenty of it) is handled well both in the writing and in the art.

New Comics 6/11/05

Ultimate Fantastic Four #19: The story has a "been there; done that" feel to it: A they all laughed at me at the academy villain takes over the Baxter Building's defenses while the FF is out of town (WAY out of town - Like, in another dimension). She's had something done to her to enhance her intelligence and she's very, very angry at the cool kids who made the cut.

This is part 1 and I'm interested enough in what's going on to read part 2 (which should be the conclusion of the story) but Warren Ellis would have done it better. Ellis realized that Reed Richards' primary superpower is his intelligence. At least once per issue, Ellis would have Reed do something really clever. Sometimes it was a small thing but it would make me say "Wow! Cool!". Mike Carey didn't write any of those moments for Reed in this issue. It's a different style, I know, but there was nothing particularly exciting about the events. The dialogue was even kind of flat.

The art, however, I like.

Jae Lee did a great job of conveying the darkness and isolation of the characters as they move through a familiar building which has now become unfamiliar. Nothing beats Adam Kubert's art for this series but I like Lee's work on this. It reminds me of Stuart Immonen's stuff in that he really captures the "guy on fire" effects on Johnny well.

Ultimate Spider-Man #78: As I was reading this issue I was thinking "Ugh. This is a lot of navel-gazing even for Bendis". Then I got to the punchline. Nice work.

It didn't go the direction I was afraid it was going to and it did, in fact, advance the story. Brian Bendis isn't Joss-Whedon good but he keeps pulling compelling stories out of these characters. I'm not reading much else that Bendis is writing right now but I am very impressed with Ultimate Spider-Man. He has kept my interest through 78 issues and that ain't easy. There was a bit of meta-comic-geekery that threw a speedbump into the story flow but it was a minor thing.

One of the reasons I have stayed interested in US-M has been Mark Bagley's art. Damn he's good! His style fits Bendis's writing perfectly. If the title had rotated through various artists (see Ultimate Fantastic Four above) I might not have stuck with it. Consistency of art and consistency of writing have combined to keep this thing in my holdbox.

Also purchased: The Goon #12 and Iron Ghost #1 but I haven't read those, yet.

New Comics (yester)Day!

Rann-Thanagar War #2 Good art. Muddy storyline. Lots of explosions and people getting disintegrated. Kyle Rayner gets some good screen time but Hawkman and Adam Strange not so much, this issue. I've made this complaint about other series and I'll make it about future ones, I'm sure but here we go again:

This issue suffers from "Trades Disease" which is the unnecessary padding of what should be a 4-issue miniseries or story arc into a 6-issue run because that's the number of issues that fit nicely into a trade paperback compilation. Not a lot happens in this issue. Having said that, there is some good padding in #2, especially on the Tamaranean queen if you know what I'm sayin'

Ahem.

Sorry about that. My biggest complaint about this series is that people keep showing up as if we're supposed to know who they are. Me heap-big comics geek and I don't recognize a lot of these cameos. Maybe they'll be identified in later issues. Also, so far, this conflict is not triggering any sort of emotional investment on my part. I really don't give a damn about most of the characters. In a war story, you're kinda supposed to, aren't you? I'll pick up #3 to see where this goes.

Lex Luthor Man of Steel #4 The Adventures of Businessman! continues. I'm still liking the series but this penultimate issue is the weakest yet. It's well-written but it's also all over the place. Also, Bermejo's art (still awesome!) makes a couple of the secondary characters look really insane in a couple of spots. Check out the freaky morning-show guy on page 14! Woah!

The introduction of Hope was done very well and I have to mention Dave Stewarts colors. They make this book. It wouldn't have a tenth of its impact without them.

The Stardust Kid #1 This one's by Image. I didn't know anything about it when I saw it on the shelf. I liked the cover art (see below) and I saw J.M DeMatteis's name on it.



Definitely worth the money. There's too much telling and not enough showing for a visual medium like comics in this intro issue but the story is very good and I am very interested in what happens next issue. This is by far the best comic I picked up this week.

More to Come My holdbox is at the other comics store and I won't have the stuff in there until Saturday. More mini-reviews then. In the meantime, it has come to my attention that many people have not heard what Rot Lop Fan can do for them. This will be corrected as soon as possible.