Here it is: a huge column reviewing seven weeks worth of comics including the entire month of April Due to work and travel, I hadn’t been to the comic store in that amount of time. And since I haven’t reviewed new comics since February, it seemed like the big pile of comics would be great fodder for a big column about comics. So hold on to your capes, it’s a quadruple-sized installment of Fluit Notes.
52 #47, 48, 49, 50, 51 and 52: And it’s done! I honestly enjoyed 52 and I’m glad I stuck it out all the way to the
end. There were a few bumpy spots along
the way. The art was inconsistent. For example, I didn’t really care for
Giuseppe Camuncoli’s work on issue 47 or Darick Robertson’s work on issue 48,
but I really liked the work of Joe Bennett, Justiniano and Eddy Barrows on the
final issues. Barrows is much better
here than he is on the Atom. Also, the
story got spread a little thin in the middle, but they more than made up for it
with some great story conclusions starting with the “Rain of the Supermen” at
the beginning of this year. This set of issues had one ending that didn’t work
so well for me. I just didn’t care for
the Bruno/Batwoman stuff at all, especially as Bruno re-entered the story so
near to the end. near to the end. But I did like the end
of the Will Magnus story. I liked how he
turned on Sivana, how he saved T.O. Morrow and how he used his own insanity in
his favor. I just wish that he had shot
all of the Metal Men out of a gun, as he does on the cover, instead of only
Lead. The Black Adam conclusion was also
momentous, even if it was padded by the unnecessary World War III
mini-series. And I enjoyed the big
Booster Gold conclusion. I wasn’t
clamoring for the return of the multiverse but I still liked how the story was
told.
Action Comics 847 and 848: Some fill-in stories are truly filler. Others, however, become classics. I’d put issue 847 in the latter. Dwayne McDuffie uses Jonathan Kent as a vehicle to tell a story out of Superman’s past. It’s a wonderful use of Clark's parents and an engaging tale in its own right. Plus, Renato Guedes’ art is reminiscent of Tony Harris’ work on Ex Machina. Unfortunately, issue 848 is of the former category. Fabian Nicieza tries to tell a tale that raises questions of religious fervor and faith but it’s not as mysterious or as engaging as it’s supposed to be.
Amazing Spider-Man Free Comic Book Day Special: Spider-Man was one of the titles that I used to read in the ‘80s. When I get nostalgic for the comics I read when I was kid, I go back and read them. But I guess I just don’t need today’s Spidey to be the Spidey of yesterday. This issue simply didn’t scratch a nostalgia itch. I don’t think I even had a nostalgia itch for it to scratch. And without that, this is a pretty boring book.
Atom 10 and 11: This was a decent story. Eddy Barrows is getting a better handle on the art though I’m still looking forward to Mike Norton’s return. And I like how Gail Simone played with clichés. Ryan Choi finds his childhood love, only to discover that she’s not quite a lovable as he thought when he was a teenager. Plus, there’s a nice development in the relationship between Ryan and his father.
Astounding Wolf-Man 1: Free Comic Book Day Special: I’m a huge fan of Invincible. I enjoyed The Walking Dead for a couple of years before getting bored. And I’ve even liked some of Kirkman’s lesser known works such as Tales of the Realm and Techjacket. So I was hoping for something really good. But this wasn’t it. It just wasn’t original at all. We’ve got the yuppie, workaholic dad who gets mauled by some kind of animal. We’ve got a few mysterious disappearances before the character figures out he’s a werewolf. And we’ve got a mysterious mentor who offers to help, and who happens to be a vampire. The text page hints that there’s a great mystery to this vampire and interesting questions to be asked about the characters but we don’t get that sense from the story. There’s just no hook here to make me want to read more.
Astro City: The Dark
Age Book Two #3: After all of the recent complaints about books like
All-Star Batman and
Avengers: Initiative
1: For a while, I was giddy happy while reading this book. I felt the same kind of joy reading that
Cloud 9 felt when she was flying. I
liked the new characters. I liked the
older characters, like Justice and Yellowjacker. And I was having a great time with some
apparently old-fashioned superhero action. And then MVP got his head blown off. I’ll admit that it was a shock, but that’s more because it was so out of
tone with the rest of the story. It was
also a blatant rip-off of Starship Troopers. I might be back for the second issue but I’m much more interested in the
“new heroes trying to make it” than I am in “government cover-up” angle.
Batman 664:
There’s some good stuff in here: the portrayal of Bruce Wayne as an
international playboy who pretends to be James Bond, the Andy Kubert art,
Batman’s compassionate offer of a Waynetech job to a prostitute, and the
clarification that the Batman who dumped the Joker into a dumpster was an
impersonator. I guess some people do
miss the Bat-psycho and they’re living in Gotham. But there’s some stuff that doesn’t work as
well such as Batman’s inner monologue in the closing sequence and the fact that
it’s taken us this long to know for sure that Batman is being impersonated.
Birds of Prey 105:
The awful Colossus mini-series from a couple of years ago turned me off of any
Rasputin stories so this issue got off on the wrong foot with me. At least, Birds of Prey is starting to
concentrate on a slightly smaller team. Plus,
it was nice to see both the Secret Six as antagonists and Tora Olafsdottir as a
central plot device. This wasn’t the
best issue of Birds of Prey, but it was still okay.
Brave and Bold 3: This is what Mark Waid was afraid of:
Brave and Bold is fun, but it’s also inconsequential. Any character development is done in the
character’s own titles. Any tension is
reserved for the big event books. So
what’s left is a mostly gentle romp through the DC Universe featuring favorite
characters in exotic locales. It’s
fun. And George Perez is still a master
artist. But it’s not exactly a riveting
read. Plus, some of the connections feel
a little forced (Supergirl’s intergalactic guide is Lobo?) and the title is
starting to feel a little crowded. It’s
not a bad book, but neither is it a “must-read.”
Countdown 51:
Good first issue. Paul Dini manages to
get me interested in the plights of Mary Marvel, Duela Dent and the
Trickster. However, I wasn’t impressed
with the comment by Jason Todd that Duela doesn’t even belong on this world. The whole who-belongs-to-which-world was a
confusing barrier to a young Chris and while I may be able to make sense of the
situation as an adult that doesn’t mean I want to.
Crossing Midnight 4,
5 and 6: Reading this series is like being grabbed by
the collar, shaken up and not let go. When I’m reading it, I’m completely involved in it. I feel as if I’m as in-over-my-head as the twin leads of Kaikou and Toshi. These
three issues give us a little bit of back-story for their mother, a spotlight
on their father and a new mystical protector/master for Kaikou. Finally, in issue 6, we see what’s happening
to Toshi as she learns that the imagination and the ability to lie may be the
most dangerous weapons of all.
Danger Girl: Body
Shots 1 and 2: This is pretty typical Danger Girl: action, intrigue, and
more than a little hanky-panky. I don’t
mind the hanky-panky, but I ‘m glad that Danger Girl tends to be tongue in
cheek about it.
Dark Horse Free Comic
Book Day Special, featuring The Umbrella Academy, Pantheon
and Zero Killer:
Dreadnoks
Declassified 3: Snake Eyes Declassified was excellent. Scarlett Declassified was even better. This was a muddled mess. In this finale, I finally figured out
why: Amaury ends up killing Zartan and
becoming the new Zartan. So we haven’t
been bouncing around time. We’ve been
alternating between Zartan and the man who will become Zartan. Maybe I should have known that before I
started reading the story. But I think
that maybe the story-teller could have communicated that to me more clearly. After all, that wasn’t the only thing that
was confusing me. Half the time, I
wasn’t sure if the story was taking place in the Australian Outback (the
original home of the Dreadnoks) or the Florida Everglades (the new home of the
Dreadnoks). It’s not a good sign when
you can’t tell the difference between the desert and the swamp.
Ex Machina 27:
Mayor Mitchell Hundred loses his powers just as a super-powered threat arrives
in New York. Meanwhile, New York is suffering a severe power outage
and the mayor’s office is scrambling to address the problem. Once again, Brian Vaughan manages to make the
political side of things interesting. The super-villain problems complicate the real world problems rather
than overshadowing them. Plus, somehow,
Mitchell manages to remain charismatic even in the midst of the chaos. I love his line about blaming Canada for the
power outage, and I’m a Canadian.
Firestorm 34 and 35: This
was kind of a weird ending for Firestorm. Even though it was the final arc, the story spent a lot more time
setting up a conflict with the New Gods that will presumably play out in other
titles like Countdown. It’s almost as if
Firestorm became a supporting character in his own book at the end.
GI Joe 22 and 23:
This was a great title about a year ago. Now, it seems to be marking time, focusing on secondary characters like
General Rey and the Baroness rather than on the Joes themselves. That’s supposed to change with a gigantic
issue 25 but for now we’re looking at decent but not great issues of GI
Joe.
Green Lantern 18 and
19: Daniel Acuna is miscast as a penciller. He’s a great cover artist, but it just doesn’t translate to interior pages. It looks too unreal, like a painting, and
keeps you distant from the characters. That’s especially a problem in a story like this one, in which love and
lust play such a central role. As for
the story, I’m intrigued at the idea of a Star Sapphire Corps but I’m still not
sure what they’re supposed to be about.
Green Lantern Corps
11 and 12: Currently, I prefer the
Invincible 40 and 41:
Yes! A double dose of Invincible. This is “probably the best superhero comic
book in the universe.”
JLA Classified 37 and
38: I don’t Frank Halloran, the self-important nihilistic philosophy major
who is the lead in these issues. But I
do like his story. I’m intrigued by his
struggle. He rejects the destiny of
violence and villainy that Professor Ivo and Amazo have planned for him. But he doesn’t exactly embrace the concepts
of virtue and justice. It’s an
interesting Catch-22. If Frank was even
slightly sympathetic, this story would be great. As it is, it works on an intellectual level
but doesn’t quite engage me as a fan.
JSA Classified 24 and
25: The first issue is the conclusion of a Dr. Mid-Nite vs. a vampire
story. It’s not great but it was
okay. My big problem with the story is
Pieter Cross’ insistence that there’s no such thing as vampires. That’s a reasonable assertion in our world. But in the DC Universe, a place populated by
alien races and immortal Neanderthals, Pieter’s skepticism seems a bit
extreme. Oh well, it was at least better
than issue 25. I generally like Tony
Bedard’s work but not this time. It was
like somebody replaced my issue of JSA Classified with an issue of
Checkmate. It looks like Alan Scott, but
he’s morally compromised, breaking his word and spouting about the gray areas
between right and wrong. And it’s not
even that good a story. Blech!
Justice 11: I
really need to re-read this story all at once. The bi-monthly schedule has allowed Alex Ross to pencil every issue but
it’s also made it hard to remember what happens from one issue to the
next. At least after a couple of pages
to get my bearings, I usually enjoy whatever issue I’m reading. The penultimate installment was no
exception. There were some great
moments, such as Rita Farr knocking out Giganta and Superman’s line “It’s my
job.” However, this issue did get a
little busy and confusing. This is one
case in which less might have been more.
Justice Leagues and
Societys (JLA 7 and 8, and JSA 5): I have one complaint about JLA 7: the
pages were printed Ultimates that are interminably late, here’s an irregularly
scheduled book that does it right. Kurt
Busiek knows that Astro City doesn’t come out
that often. He knows his readers may not
remember every detail from the previous issue. But he doesn’t expect them to. Throughout
this issue, there are little lines of expository dialogue to remind you of the
pertinent events. Royal is working for
the Platypus. Charles is trying not to
take graft while also trying not to tell Internal Investigations that his
partner is corrupt. Charles’ wife left
him. The Street Angel has gotten
darker. And so on. Exposition can be overdone- it can weigh down
a story- but that’s not the case here. Instead, it keeps the reader from constantly wondering what’s going on
so that we get down to simply enjoying the story. And it is mostly enjoyable, though not
entirely. As I feared, the Dark Age is a
little too dark for what I want from Astro City. But there’s still the sense of wonder that I want
to see combined with the average person on the street’s view of great
events. It’s that combination that has
made Astro City and earlier works like Marvels so special. As long as that’s here, a book well worth reading.
Buffy the Vampire
Slayer 2 and 3: A lot of titles are in contention as the best book of the
month. This is one of them. Georges Jeanty has really grown as an artist
from his days on Bishop and Gambit. He
does a great job of capturing the character’s likenesses without being
photo-realistic. And he does a great job
of capturing facial expressions, which is crucial to this kind of book. But of course, the real star is writer Joss
Whedon. Buffy is his creation after
all. And Joss is having a fun time with
the comic, giving us the kind of situations and scenes that a special-effects
budget would not have permitted on TV. We get an overgrown Dawn, zombies storming a castle in issue 2, and an
all-out witch battle in issue 3. Plus,
we get the return of a few familiar characters such as Ethan Rayne, Amy and another
that I don’t want to give away.
Dynamo 5 #2: This
was good. Really good. Better than Noble Causes good. Gotta-get-more good. The team is made up of the descendants of
Captain Dynamo, but there are a couple of twists: each of the five characters
inherited a different power, and each of the five characters is Captain
Dynamo’s child by a different woman. Plus, the team is being run by the Captain’s widow, who isn’t mother to
any of them. Suddenly, you’ve got a team
that has a reason to work together, and even more reasons to not get along. Jay
Faerber manages to come up with a few twists on convention as well such as
giving the football player mental rather than physical powers. These characters have flaws, but they’re
still mostly likable. And I have to
mention Mahmud Asrar’s art. It’s absolutely
gorgeous. He draws pretty women who look
different from one another, muscular men and scary monsters. He draws fluid flight scenes and powerful
fight scenes. And he’s a strong enough
story-teller that he can handle quiet scenes like conversations over coffee and
visits to a nursing home. Do yourself a
favor and buy this book.
Fables 59 and 60: Fables #59 made me laugh out loud…
multiple times. It’s a special one-shot
in which Bill Willingham and two handfuls of artists answer readers’ questions
with short stories. We find out the last
thing that Jack did before leaving Fabletown, who’s been asking questions of
the Magic Mirror and how Bufkin keeps getting into the liquor. It’s funny stuff, yet Willingham still
manages to creatively tie several of the short stories together and
occasionally reveal important character information. The next issue, #60, starts us off on a
Flycatcher story. It’s not as great as
59, but it’s just an opening act so it’s got plenty of time to get better.
Fantastic Four 544
and 545: I’m not a big fan of the Fantastic Four. I enjoy the title when it has a good creative
team but I’m not so enamored with the characters that I have to get this title
when it doesn’t. However, the early
returns on the McDuffie/Pelletier era are positive. It’s not “the best FF ever,” but its well
worth reading. I especially enjoyed the
witty dialogue, particularly in the playful banter between Ben and Johnny. Other creators have written their
relationship as if they’re enemies who would rip each other apart if Sue wasn’t
there to intervene. McDuffie writes them
more like they’re brothers. They enjoy
teasing each other and trying to show the other one up, but they honestly like
each other and would defend the other one from anyone else. Oh, and the Black Panther and Storm fit in
well with the Black Panther providing tech support and tactics while Storm
provides phenomenal power and a moral center—kind of like Reed and Sue. And oh again, I liked the inclusion of new
characters like Stardust (who I hadn’t met before now) and Gravity (who I liked
a lot thanks to his first mini-series). All in all, good stuff so far from the new creative team on Fantastic
Four.
Spin-off Corps to the core title. Guy Gardner may be too crass to work as a
solo hero but he’s a great fit for an ensemble cast. Sora Natu, with her surgeon’s perspective and
reservations about the Corps, is a great new character. I was a little nervous about seeing so many Lanterns
act out of character, but Gibbons didn’t leave us wondering for too long before
revealing a very surprising cause.
I love how
Kirkman juggles the supporting cast. The
main action is on Invincible and a team of heroes fighting off an invasion from
outer space, but we still cut back to earth to the heroes and the girlfriend
left behind. The previously annoying
Rexsplode is suddenly a sympathetic character, while you feel bad for Amber
even at the same time that you want Mark to break up with her so that he can
get together with Eve. Invincible does a
great job of balancing action and relationships, of including a huge supporting
cast while not losing sight of the lead, and of playing around with the fact
that the title is part of a larger superhero universe (as with the Brit cameo
in issue 40). It just doesn’t get any
better than this.
out of order. I have another complaint: Brad Meltzer’s
jump-cut style of story-telling made it difficult to figure out what the right
order should be. But that’s about
it. Everything else was great. I love the line-up, incorporating members
from all of the different eras and even a few new ones. I love the character moments, like how much
Roy Harper respects Black Canary, and Superman telling Batman that it’s okay to
have Hal and the others pick the new team. I like the Hall of Justice. I
like it all. JLA has got to be one of my
favorite books right now. And then
there’s “The Lightning Saga,” the crossover with JSA. It’s hard to judge a crossover based on only
the first two chapters but I do like what I’ve seen so far. Both Meltzer and Johns know how to mix
character moments with action and suspense. On the one side, there’s more Roy Harper (yay!) and Brion’s half-apologetic
half-boastful observation about how he has the combined powers of the rest of
the team. On the other, there are some
quick fights like Batman vs. Karate Kid and the training sequence of Hawkgirl
vs. Red Arrow.
Loners 1 and 2: I like obscure heroes so I was intrigued by The Loners but not enough to come back for issue 3. Karl Moline inks his own pencils a little too darkly. And C.B. Cebulski hasn’t really given us a reason to like the main characters though the second issue was better than the first. But in the end, Loners just isn’t as good as I would want it to be.
Madman Atomic Comics 1: I was disappointed. I wanted to like Madman. I wanted to like him like I like Hellboy and Nexus. I wanted to like him like I liked the Atomics. But this was not a good first issue. Basically, it’s a re-cap of all of the various Madman series and specials over the years. That’s okay, but it probably should have been a 0 issue or a prequel instead of the new number 1. Then, when the recaps were done, Madman got into a philosophical dream about whether we are who we are or who we think we are. I wanted “madcap” but I got “pretentious.” Blech.
Mighty Avengers 2: I liked the flashback sequences in which Miss Marvel and Iron Man gather the rest of the team together. However, the main action sequence lacked any forward movement; the Mighty Avengers were in basically the same situation at the end of the issue that they were at the beginning. Also, others might find Bendis’ dialogue tics endearing but I find them annoying. This isn’t a bad title, it’s just not the right title for me.
Nightwing 131, 132
and Annual 2: Bride and Groom are really lame villains. Even the attempt to tie the Bride into the
Salem Witch Trials fails to make her interesting. On the bright side, at least we’re getting to
see the real Dick Grayson rather than the imposter we’ve been seeing in
Outsiders and during the Devin Grayson run. Plus, I like how Marv Wolfman is building a neighborhood and a
supporting cast around Dick. I’m just
not sure it’s enough to get the side stuff right while the main action is so
lame. The Annual seems to have the
opposite problem. It should be a good
story. After all, it has a strong hook. It’s the story of Dick and Barbara - aka
Robin and Batgirl, aka Nightwing and Oracle- and their on and off and on again
relationship. We get to see what it was
like when they first started to be attracted to each other. We get to see them first fall in love. We get to see them leave each other, hurt
each other, but always care for each other. But this issue just doesn’t have the heart or the emotional oomph that
it needs to convey the relationship. It
answers questions. It just didn’t make
me feel. At least, not as much as it
should have.
Noble Causes 29: I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It’s the big showdown between the Noble family and the Blackthornes. And it’s great. The two families have become so intertwined that a quarter of them don’t even know which side to fight for. There are some great throw-downs and a surprising offer that puts at end to the shenanigans. Stories like this are the reason I started to love this title in the first place. My only complaint is Yildiray Cinar’s art felt a little rushed. It’s still better than the previous artist, and his talent stood out in certain panels and pages. It just wasn’t as consistently excellent as it had been in the previous issues.
Runaways 25 and 26: It’s a new creative team, but it’s still the same old Runaways. Joss Whedon brings a little of his Whedonspeak to the dialogue but these are still the same characters that we’ve been following for forty plus issues over two volumes. And Michael Ryan is a good choice for the art- as with his run on Academy X, the kids look like kids without looking cartoony. This isn’t a drastic change for the title. It’s simply more of the good stuff we enjoyed under the previous team.
Samurai: Heaven and Earth Vol. 2 #4: There’s not a lot I can say about this issue of Samurai that I haven’t said about others. It’s got beautiful art by Luke Ross reminiscent of Greg Land on Sojourn or Steve Epting on El Cazador. It’s got exotic locations, sudden betrayals and passionate love. It’s just plain ol’ great.
SHAZAM: Monster
Society of Evil 3: I have to admit I’m kind of bored with this title. Just when I think it’s about to get good- as
with the introduction of Mary Batson/Mary Marvel in the latter half of issue 2-
it seems to take another step backward. In this issue, Mary is pushed to the sidelines while we spend the bulk
of the book following Sivana, Attorney General of the United States.It’s bad enough that we follow the villain
rather than the more interesting sidekick. It’s worse that Jeff Smith created such a distraction for himself: the
political commentary didn’t really fit the rest of the book and would go right
over the heads of the kids this book is supposed to be aimed at. I anticipated that this would be one of the
best mini-series of 2007 but so far, it’s been a dud.
Star Wars, Star Wars,
Star Wars: Three of the four Star Wars titles shipped during this month and
a half; Rebellion was on hiatus and shipped one week too late to make it into
the review.
First up, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 15 and
16. John Jackson Miller recently quit
his day job so that he could concentrate on writing full time and I have to say
that it’s a good decision. Knights is
one of the most consistently excellent books that I read month after month and
the first issue, 15, is one of the best so far. Protagonist and failed Jedi Padawan Zayne Carrick has had a prophetic
dream in which he foresees the Mandalorian army bombing the civilian population
of Serroco. In this issue, he tries to
share his knowledge with those who are in charge of the Republic forces. Unfortunately, his own reputation works
against him. Zayne’s protestations are
taken as proof that he’s insane. He’s
arrested, and the civilian population of Serroco is devastated by the
bombing. It’s one of the most tragic
issues I’ve ever read. Even so, Miller
manages to keep things from being too depressing by including some comic relief
through Zayne’s companion Gryph. Yet,
even while we’re laughing at Gryph’s antics, we’re still anxious for him to
leave the planet and survive. Miller
manages to drag the suspense out even further by dedicating the next issue to
Zayne’s former companions Jarael and Camper, as well as one of the Jedi that
killed Zayne’s classmates,
Next, there’s Star Wars: Legacy 10 and 11. Knights is set far in the past. Legacy is set far in the future. It’s the story of Cade Skywalker, the latest in the great Skywalker lineage. Yet Cade has rejected his heritage and is leaving as a smuggler rather than a hero. Issue 10 follows a couple of bounty hunters who are trying to bring Cade to Imperial justice. It’s not a great issue- I don’t care for Colin Watson’s art- but there is a great revelation at the end. Issue 12 is much better. It marks the return of regular artist Jan Duursema who’s been doing great work on the Star Wars titles. It also focuses once again on Cade, who’s having visions of his forebears- such as Darth Vader and Mara Jade. Plus, it introduces K’Kruhk- last seen in Star Wars: Republic comic books and the Clone Wars cartoons- and the Yuuzhan Vong- alien adversaries from the New Jedi Order series of novels.
Finally, there’s Star Wars: Dark Times 3. Dark Times isn’t quite as incredible as either Knights or Legacy but it’s still a good book in its own right. It follows the (so-far) surviving Jedi in the early days of the Emperor. One former Master, Dass Jennir, is being forced to learn how to be a smuggler instead of a noble knight. He still tries to work against the empire and injustices like slavery, but he’s sadly learning that there’s not a lot that he can do.
She-Hulk 17: I liked the old status quo. It was great to see Jennifer Walters as lawyer to the capes. But I like the new status quo, too. She-Hulk (the character, not the title) felt shackled as a lawyer. Now, she’s free as an agent of SHIELD to punch things whenever she wants to. Yet Dan Slott continues to engage both worlds. We still get the quirky characters from the law offices while being introduced to a second quirky cast aboard the Helicarrier. A few highlights: the opening argument about wasting space on a splash page, Sidney complaining about the number of Helicarriers that have been destroyed over the years, and She-Hulk vs. a room full of Nick Fury LMDs.
Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes 28 and 29: I’ll admit it; I’m lost. With two dozen Legionnaires and now a dozen Wanderers, it’s hard to keep track of all of the characters. I’ve lost track of this title so much that I didn’t even remember we were in the middle of a Dominator war. And I had all of these complaints even before the new creative team in issue 29 which was an unfortunate step down. This version of the Legion has had its moments, especially in the first year and shortly after the addition of Supergirl, but lately it’s not been as good as I’d want it to be.
Superman 661 and 662:
I was about ready for the fill-ins to be done. I enjoyed the previous fill-in that focused on the Prankster, but this
one guest-starring Wonder Woman wasn’t all that great. The good news is that issue 662 marked the
return of the main story and series penciller Carlos Pacheco. I wasn’t a huge fan of the dystopic future
that Arion showed Superman but I do like how it’s playing out after the
fact. It’s not very interesting to set
Superman up against threats he can beat by hitting them. Conversely, it’s very interesting to have a
story in which Superman is forced to question the effectiveness of hitting
things. I liked how Jimmy Olsen
automatically rushed to defend Superman, while Superman investigated the
problem by talking to Zatanna and then finding Sirocco. The latter course of action showed us that
Superman is a lot smarter than we usually give him credit for. Plus, I kind of like Sirocco. It’s always nice to meet an interesting, new
hero.
Teen Titans 45 and 46: This is what some observers derisively refer to as a “fight comic.” The Teen Titans fight the Titans East. Then they fight them some more. Then they fight them even more. It’s like the theme song to “The Itchy and Scratchy Show.” Characters who have been knocked out of the fight early in one issue come back later on, with the result that the whole thing just feels its moving in circles instead of forward. The Titans fight against Dr. Light was a classic. This was not.
Wonder Woman 6, 7 and
8 and Amazons Attack 1: Back in the day, I used to be a theatre major in college
and I remember some acting classes that talked about how heading towards
something is a stronger motivation than heading away from something. I’ve seen that point illustrated in a number
of works, including here. The new Wonder
Woman title keeps looking back to the Maxwell Lord incident instead of ahead to
whatever Wonder Woman wants to accomplish next. There’s some good stuff here. I
think this arc is stronger than the first one. Donna has been moved out of the title so there’s less confusion. Wonder Woman is learning how to create and
maintain a secret identity. She has an
interesting partnership with the former Nemesis. And Circe makes for an interesting ally with
the Amazons. But the good pieces just
don’t come together as a great whole. Maybe
it’s because I expect too much after Greg Rucka’s excellent run. Or maybe it’s because the title feels like it
keeps on looking over its shoulder.
World War III 1-4: Wow, World War III was really bad. So bad, I started skimming instead of reading bad. So bad, I told my wife not to bother reading it bad. World War III came about because a change of plans for 52. 52 was supposed to fill in the lost year, using several characters as observers. However, as the writers worked on 52, they discovered that the point-of-view characters had interesting stories in their own right so the title became more about them than the events they were supposed to witness. I fully endorse that decision. I enjoyed reading about the point-of-view characters and in my opinion, 52 struggled a little when it broadened the story beyond those six heroes. But the result of that decision is that a lot of the changes that were supposed to be chronicled in 52 weren’t going to be addressed in that title. Apparently, the solution was to include one event that would explain all of the changes and add this four-part mini-series to cover them.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work. For one thing, the explanation becomes a
punch-line. Why did Donna put on the
Wonder Woman costume? World War
Three. Why did Beast Boy quit the
Titans? World War Three. Why did Amanda Waller start a new
Checkmate? World War Three. Why did Jason Todd become Nightwing? World War Three. Instead of developing as a natural outgrowth
of a story, the changes all seemed to be cobbled onto the big event. They become arbitrary instead of essential. Another major problem is that the mini-series
itself didn’t have a plot. It simply
intercut scenes of various characters making important decisions with scenes of
various heroes fighting Black Adam. The
one never seemed to have anything to do with the other. There was no story there. Worst of all, John Ostrander chose to make
the Martian Manhunter the narrator. However, the Manhunter’s inner monologue became very tiresome, even
before the end of the second issue. And
the whole point of the narration was to explain why the Manhunter turned dark
for his most recent mini-series, a change that wasn’t particularly interesting
in the first place. Ugh! World War Three is a clinic on how not to
write a comic.
X-23: Target X #5: I’ve reviewed this title before so I don’t have a lot of new things to say. The Michael Choi art is beautiful. X-23, despite her origins as a clone, is an interesting character as she struggles to be who she wants to be instead of who she was made to be. And there are some strong story moments such as X-23’s confrontation with Kimura and her surprising decision at the end of the story to go after Wolverine.
X-Factor 18: This is the only X-Men spin-off that I’m still reading. So why has X-Factor persevered while New X-Men, New Excalibur and Exiles have fallen by the wayside? Peter David’s witty dialogue. The complicated ways that the stories fit together. It’s smart so that my brain keeps spinning with questions, while also funny and occasionally exciting. This particular issue is a good example of the convoluted stories that somehow pull together. The team feels like they have to do something even though Layla Miller tells them that the current conflict will resolve on its own. When they persist, she sends them on various errands that at first seem meaningless but tie together to bring them face to face with the X-Cell.
X-Men, X-Men and more
X-Men: Astonishing X-Men remains one
of my favorite titles and issue 21 is no exception. When I handed the first stack of comics to my
wife, she asked me if there was anything that she should read right away and I
answered, “Astonishing X-Men.” The John
Cassaday art is consistently beautiful. And Joss Whedon knows how to include all of the little things that make
a comic fun. There are great moments of
wit such as the Beast’s put-downs of Agent Brand, great moments of romance such
as the scene between Kitty and Colossus, and it’s all set as the counterpoint
to great moments of action, intrigue and surprise.
Uncanny X-Men may not be quite as good as Astonishing, but
it’s close. Issue 485 is the penultimate
chapter of “The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire.” I had been fairly impressed with the earlier
issue in which Vulcan fell in love with Deathbird. I found it wholly believable that somebody as
young and impressionable as Vulcan could be so turned around by a lover that he
ends up fighting to defend the very thing he set out to destroy. Yet in this issue, Ed Brubaker pulls the rug
out from underneath us again. Vulcan was
only playing along and after he weds Deathbird, he goes ahead and kills D’Ken
anyway. As if that apparent betrayal
wasn’t enough, Vulcan then declares himself emperor by right of marriage. That is not a scene I’m likely to forget for
a long time. Well done, Uncanny.
Unfortunately, it seems like there always has to be one weak X-Men title. Nowadays, it’s adjective-less X-Men by Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo. It’s not that their run on X-Men is horrible. It’s certainly better than the two previous runs by Chuck Austen and Peter Milligan. But it certainly doesn’t measure up to the two other X-titles. Carey seems to have trouble clearly communicating who the villain is or what they want so the main conflict is usually confused. This is as true for issue 198, the second part of Red Data, as it was for the previous story. There are some nice moments like the budding flirtation between Iceman and Mystique, and I like the inclusion of newer heroes like Lady Mastermind and Omega Sentinel, but overall this is a pretty mediocre book at the moment.
Y: The Last Man 56: Nothing much happens in this issue. For a lot of other comics, that would be a complaint. But not for a Brian K. Vaughan comic. Instead, Yorick and Agent 355 have some parting conversations that are really touching, and that shine a light on their personalities and their relationship. We also catch of a glimpse of several supporting characters who are close to tracking Yorick down. That’s a good thing when it’s his sister Hero and the second Beth. That’s not a good thing when it’s the Israeli agent Alter. Oh, and we’ve been waiting for those final three pages for four years. They literally made my wife cry.
Originally Published at CaptainComics.us, May 25, 2007
Comments