I was out of town last weekend and didn't get back until late Sunday night. That meant I didn't get to the comics shop until Monday night for the previous Friday's books. Naturally I was back there on Wednesday for this week's books. So it's all a big blur of spandex ... which, as I type that, seems sure to bring in the random Google hits....
JANUARY 9, 2008
Teen Titans Lost Annual #1 (Oh, like there's going to be a "Lost Annual #2."): I can see why DC didn't want to publish this back when it was completed a few years ago. It belongs to a different time -- a time when, for example, Robin could stay in the White House as a guest of the President and feel comfortable kicking back in his costume, sans mask but plus white gym socks. It's not a period piece in the manner of New Frontier, it's an unsubtle commentary on the way superhero comics used to work. I liked it pretty well. The story is pretty wild, by any objective standard, but it's still charming; and the art is accessible and makes the Titans look appropriately young and heroic.
Bat Lash #2: Because I am not reading the current Jonah Hex book, which apparently threatens rape pretty frequently, I'm not so burned out on said threats when they crop up here. Just need to get that out of the way. Otherwise, this miniseries seems to be an origin of sorts for Bat -- at least, I think it's the origin of the flower in his hat -- and it involving a number of standard Western plotlines. I'm still intrigued by the book, because I can see Bat developing into an interesting character, but I don't quite think he's there yet.
The Spirit #12: Darwyn Cooke gets a number of tools out of his kit for this issue, especially on the Eisneresque flashback scenes (and an equally Eisneresque rained-out final page). It's an I Can't Love You, I've Been Too Bad Too Long kind of plot, but it's still very effective. I don't mean this to sound dismissive -- rather, Cooke is such a fine storyteller that I don't have the space to gush about his work.
JLA Classified #50: A rampaging monster from the League's early days returns to wreak havoc on the current team. Thus, most of this issue is fight scenes. It's a lot like what you'd expect a Justice League comic to be, and I mean that in the best way possible. Problems will be solved, and adversities overcome, by the time this arc is over.
Superman #672: Same thing goes for Part 2 of "The Insect Queen," which uses young Chris Kent as its cliffhanger. This makes a lot of sense, considering that the other major Super-players (Superman, Lois, and Lana) are pretty much safe from harm -- but we don't quite know what to make of Chris, so he gets "volunteered." As for the main plot, Superman fights insectoid aliens, and Lana learns more about how her insectoid doppelganger has taken over the Moon. If you think that sounds like an entertaining Superman comic, you're right. Art is fine, but Lana's choreography is a little funky for some reason. She tumbles around a fair amount, and it never comes out quite right.
Nightwing #140: A decent start for new writer Peter Tomasi and new artists Rags Morales and Michael Bair. Morales and Bair are reliably good, but I found Tomasi's characters to be somewhat long-winded. The new woman in Dick's life speaks especially expositionally, and Dick isn't exempt either. The plot is much more DCU-centered, involving the robbing of super-folks' graves, and there are many of the guests you might expect in a Bat-title. Overall I liked it, but cut down on the balloon juice, okay?
Green Arrow And Black Canary #4: Beautiful art, but that should go without saying. As for the story, I was thinking the other day about how much I liked Green Arrow as a Justice Leaguer. He usually gets to spit sarcastic remarks at the rest of the team, and that's always fun. However, more often than not he gets to back that up with fearless derring-do, mostly involving some explosive arrows and a giant robot. However, you can't build an ongoing series around that kind of character unless you give him some depth, and I think that's where writer Judd Winick has been going with GA/BC. Unfortunately, Winick is building character through tragedy again, and while this issue gets a lot of things right (Ollie's friends coming through, good moments with Batman and Wonder Woman), at the heart of it is still the tragedy of Connor Hawke. Here's hoping it gets reversed soon somehow, so that Ollie can learn and the book can really enjoy the fantastic work of Cliff Chiang.
Green Lantern Corps #20: Peter Tomasi has already written part of "Sinestro Corps" for this title, but he starts his tenure as new writer in earnest here, with a picking-up-the-pieces story putting Kyle and Guy in Chandler-and-Joey roles on Oa. It is a very sitcommy setup, and while I don't have high hopes, it does have potential. Also, Mongul gets a Sinestro ring and gloats about it. Tomasi's talky here too, and the differing art styles of Patrick Gleason and Carlos Magno are fine on their own merits, but don't blend together well.
52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen #6: Kind of a blah conclusion to what I'd hoped would be a more exciting miniseries. The Horsemen end up taking over our heroes, except they're surprisingly easy to get along with, and their eventual host doesn't seem to mind them too much. I did like seeing the Doom Patrol and Snapper Carr, though.
Countdown #s 17 and 16: I'll talk about these together because they're really pretty decent, at least as far as this series goes. Monarch's army comes to the idyllic Earth-51 and totally trashes it, killing its Justice League and assorted other heroes without much trouble. Meanwhile, Jean Loring loses the power of Eclipso in a fight with Mary Marvel, and Mary likewise loses her Shazam powers. One Earth's Jean dies, but another one lives, making me suspect that our Ray Palmer will have a tearful reunion with that Jean at some point. Finally, Jason Todd meets the Batman of Earth-51 and (judging by the previews for this week) learns that Earth's dark secret. Again, a lot of fight scenes, but as depicted by Pete Woods and Tom Derenick, pretty well laid out. Dialogue is okay, but not horrible. I have to say, this is the most interest I've had in Countdown since it's started. I may have a problem with the "message" of Earth-51, but that'll probably be a topic for next week.
JANUARY 4, 2008
Teen Titans Year One #1: Talked about this one in Thursday's Grumpy Old Fan, but not in much depth. I liked it a lot, even though Wally West acted more like Bart Allen than I would have expected, and I'm still not used to Aqualad being so "fishy"-looking. However, those are dramatic and stylistic choices which work within the context of the miniseries. As I said in GOF, despite the title, I don't think this is a continuity-oriented gap-filler like JLA Year One, and that's fine. It's enough for me that it evokes the spirit of a different time -- maybe not precisely the Silver Age, but something that still feels like a growing and developing DC-Earth. Oh, and I really like Karl Kerschl, Serge Lapointe and Steph Peru's art -- it reminds me of Stuart Immonen's Nextwave work, which is great.
Howard The Duck #4: Fine conclusion to a story that had to be reined in somehow before it collapsed under the weight of all the satire. Ty Templeton writes a funny George W. Bush. On the whole it's probably too broad, but I enjoyed it and wouldn't mind more Howard from these folks (assuming Steve Gerber's not coming back, of course).
Supergirl #25: The Girl of Steel has flashbacks to Argo City's destruction and then fights Reactron. The latter's design has been updated since his days as an obscure Who's Who entry, but it still took me a while to recognize him. That's about it for the plot. The fight scenes are portrayed very matter-of-factly, with a certain amount of distance, and that gives everything a decompressed feel. Accordingly, this was kind of a dull issue. I like Drew Johnson and Ray Snyder's art, but it's still kinda dull.
(All-New) Atom #19: I love Jerry Ordway, but here his guest-artist talents are in the service of a rather blah Lost Underground Amish Tribe story. Our hero basically gets saved because he's cute, not because he does anything heroic. Keith Champagne is no Gail Simone, that's for sure.
Detective Comics #840: Really good Batman-vs.-Ra's story. Batman basically renders the entire Ra's-is-back crossover moot by putting Ra's out of commission for as long as DC wants. Up to that point, though, it's a fairly suspenseful tale which centers around the fact that Ra's knows all of Batman's secrets and, being filled with revenge, is itching to exploit them. Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs are the new art team, and they're very good. Lots of blacks, and a dull color palette from John Kalisz. Nguyen has a very fluid approach, his figures are consistent and weighty, and he's a good choreographer. Hope this team sticks together for a while.
Finally, Countdown To Mystery #4 gets the Eclipso out of Jean (duplicating that part of Countdown) and back into Bruce Gordon; and introduces the new Doctor Fate to his "new" Inza. I continue to like the Fate series even if it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Ironically, I'm also starting to like the Eclipso story more because it seems to be developing a plot. The art in "Eclipso" is a bit T&A oriented, and the dialogue isn't anywhere near Gerber's "Fate" work, but it's not as bad as it has been.
CREDITS
52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen #6. Written by Keith Giffen, pencilled by Pat Olliffe, inked by John Stanisci.
The All-New Atom #19. Written by Keith Champagne, pencilled by Jerry Ordway, inked by Trevor Scott.
Bat Lash #2. Written by Sergio Aragones & Peter Brandvold, drawn by John Severin.
Countdown To Final Crisis #17. Written by Paul Dini and Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, story consultant Keith Giffen, pencilled by Ron Lim, inked by Jimmy Palmiotti.
Countdown To Final Crisis #16. Written by Paul Dini and Tony Bedard, story consultant Keith Giffen, pencilled by Pete Woods & Tom Derenick, inked by Wayne Faucher.
Countdown To Mystery # 4. "Eclipso" written by Matthew Sturges and drawn by Stephen Jorge Segouia; "Doctor Fate" written by Steve Gerber, pencilled by Justiniano, and inked by Walden Wong.
Detective Comics #840. Written by Paul Dini, pencilled by Dustin Nguyen, inked by Derek Fridolfs.
Green Arrow and Black Canary #4. Written by Judd Winick, drawn by Cliff Chiang.
Green Lantern Corps #20. Written by Peter Tomasi, pencilled by Patrick Gleason and Carlos Magno, inked by PRentis Rollins, Tom Nguyen, Drew Geraci, Rodney Ramos, & Rebecca Buchman.
Howard the DuckJLA Classified #50. Written by Roger Stern, pencilled by John Byrne, inked by Mark Farmer.
Nightwing #140. Written by Peter Tomasi, pencilled by Rags Morales, inked by Michael Bair.
The Spirit #12. Written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke.
Supergirl #25. Written by Kelley Puckett, pencilled by Drew Johnson & Lee Ferguson, inked by Ray Snyder.
Superman #672. Written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Peter Vale, inked by Wellington Diaz.
Teen Titans Lost Annual #1. Written by Bob Haney, pencilled by Jay Stephens, inked by Mike Allred.
Teen Titans Year One #1. Written by Amy Wolfram, art by Karl Kerschl, Serge Lapointe, and Steph Peru.
JANUARY 9, 2008
Teen Titans Lost Annual #1 (Oh, like there's going to be a "Lost Annual #2."): I can see why DC didn't want to publish this back when it was completed a few years ago. It belongs to a different time -- a time when, for example, Robin could stay in the White House as a guest of the President and feel comfortable kicking back in his costume, sans mask but plus white gym socks. It's not a period piece in the manner of New Frontier, it's an unsubtle commentary on the way superhero comics used to work. I liked it pretty well. The story is pretty wild, by any objective standard, but it's still charming; and the art is accessible and makes the Titans look appropriately young and heroic.
Bat Lash #2: Because I am not reading the current Jonah Hex book, which apparently threatens rape pretty frequently, I'm not so burned out on said threats when they crop up here. Just need to get that out of the way. Otherwise, this miniseries seems to be an origin of sorts for Bat -- at least, I think it's the origin of the flower in his hat -- and it involving a number of standard Western plotlines. I'm still intrigued by the book, because I can see Bat developing into an interesting character, but I don't quite think he's there yet.
The Spirit #12: Darwyn Cooke gets a number of tools out of his kit for this issue, especially on the Eisneresque flashback scenes (and an equally Eisneresque rained-out final page). It's an I Can't Love You, I've Been Too Bad Too Long kind of plot, but it's still very effective. I don't mean this to sound dismissive -- rather, Cooke is such a fine storyteller that I don't have the space to gush about his work.
JLA Classified #50: A rampaging monster from the League's early days returns to wreak havoc on the current team. Thus, most of this issue is fight scenes. It's a lot like what you'd expect a Justice League comic to be, and I mean that in the best way possible. Problems will be solved, and adversities overcome, by the time this arc is over.
Superman #672: Same thing goes for Part 2 of "The Insect Queen," which uses young Chris Kent as its cliffhanger. This makes a lot of sense, considering that the other major Super-players (Superman, Lois, and Lana) are pretty much safe from harm -- but we don't quite know what to make of Chris, so he gets "volunteered." As for the main plot, Superman fights insectoid aliens, and Lana learns more about how her insectoid doppelganger has taken over the Moon. If you think that sounds like an entertaining Superman comic, you're right. Art is fine, but Lana's choreography is a little funky for some reason. She tumbles around a fair amount, and it never comes out quite right.
Nightwing #140: A decent start for new writer Peter Tomasi and new artists Rags Morales and Michael Bair. Morales and Bair are reliably good, but I found Tomasi's characters to be somewhat long-winded. The new woman in Dick's life speaks especially expositionally, and Dick isn't exempt either. The plot is much more DCU-centered, involving the robbing of super-folks' graves, and there are many of the guests you might expect in a Bat-title. Overall I liked it, but cut down on the balloon juice, okay?
Green Arrow And Black Canary #4: Beautiful art, but that should go without saying. As for the story, I was thinking the other day about how much I liked Green Arrow as a Justice Leaguer. He usually gets to spit sarcastic remarks at the rest of the team, and that's always fun. However, more often than not he gets to back that up with fearless derring-do, mostly involving some explosive arrows and a giant robot. However, you can't build an ongoing series around that kind of character unless you give him some depth, and I think that's where writer Judd Winick has been going with GA/BC. Unfortunately, Winick is building character through tragedy again, and while this issue gets a lot of things right (Ollie's friends coming through, good moments with Batman and Wonder Woman), at the heart of it is still the tragedy of Connor Hawke. Here's hoping it gets reversed soon somehow, so that Ollie can learn and the book can really enjoy the fantastic work of Cliff Chiang.
Green Lantern Corps #20: Peter Tomasi has already written part of "Sinestro Corps" for this title, but he starts his tenure as new writer in earnest here, with a picking-up-the-pieces story putting Kyle and Guy in Chandler-and-Joey roles on Oa. It is a very sitcommy setup, and while I don't have high hopes, it does have potential. Also, Mongul gets a Sinestro ring and gloats about it. Tomasi's talky here too, and the differing art styles of Patrick Gleason and Carlos Magno are fine on their own merits, but don't blend together well.
52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen #6: Kind of a blah conclusion to what I'd hoped would be a more exciting miniseries. The Horsemen end up taking over our heroes, except they're surprisingly easy to get along with, and their eventual host doesn't seem to mind them too much. I did like seeing the Doom Patrol and Snapper Carr, though.
Countdown #s 17 and 16: I'll talk about these together because they're really pretty decent, at least as far as this series goes. Monarch's army comes to the idyllic Earth-51 and totally trashes it, killing its Justice League and assorted other heroes without much trouble. Meanwhile, Jean Loring loses the power of Eclipso in a fight with Mary Marvel, and Mary likewise loses her Shazam powers. One Earth's Jean dies, but another one lives, making me suspect that our Ray Palmer will have a tearful reunion with that Jean at some point. Finally, Jason Todd meets the Batman of Earth-51 and (judging by the previews for this week) learns that Earth's dark secret. Again, a lot of fight scenes, but as depicted by Pete Woods and Tom Derenick, pretty well laid out. Dialogue is okay, but not horrible. I have to say, this is the most interest I've had in Countdown since it's started. I may have a problem with the "message" of Earth-51, but that'll probably be a topic for next week.
JANUARY 4, 2008
Teen Titans Year One #1: Talked about this one in Thursday's Grumpy Old Fan, but not in much depth. I liked it a lot, even though Wally West acted more like Bart Allen than I would have expected, and I'm still not used to Aqualad being so "fishy"-looking. However, those are dramatic and stylistic choices which work within the context of the miniseries. As I said in GOF, despite the title, I don't think this is a continuity-oriented gap-filler like JLA Year One, and that's fine. It's enough for me that it evokes the spirit of a different time -- maybe not precisely the Silver Age, but something that still feels like a growing and developing DC-Earth. Oh, and I really like Karl Kerschl, Serge Lapointe and Steph Peru's art -- it reminds me of Stuart Immonen's Nextwave work, which is great.
Howard The Duck #4: Fine conclusion to a story that had to be reined in somehow before it collapsed under the weight of all the satire. Ty Templeton writes a funny George W. Bush. On the whole it's probably too broad, but I enjoyed it and wouldn't mind more Howard from these folks (assuming Steve Gerber's not coming back, of course).
Supergirl #25: The Girl of Steel has flashbacks to Argo City's destruction and then fights Reactron. The latter's design has been updated since his days as an obscure Who's Who entry, but it still took me a while to recognize him. That's about it for the plot. The fight scenes are portrayed very matter-of-factly, with a certain amount of distance, and that gives everything a decompressed feel. Accordingly, this was kind of a dull issue. I like Drew Johnson and Ray Snyder's art, but it's still kinda dull.
(All-New) Atom #19: I love Jerry Ordway, but here his guest-artist talents are in the service of a rather blah Lost Underground Amish Tribe story. Our hero basically gets saved because he's cute, not because he does anything heroic. Keith Champagne is no Gail Simone, that's for sure.
Detective Comics #840: Really good Batman-vs.-Ra's story. Batman basically renders the entire Ra's-is-back crossover moot by putting Ra's out of commission for as long as DC wants. Up to that point, though, it's a fairly suspenseful tale which centers around the fact that Ra's knows all of Batman's secrets and, being filled with revenge, is itching to exploit them. Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs are the new art team, and they're very good. Lots of blacks, and a dull color palette from John Kalisz. Nguyen has a very fluid approach, his figures are consistent and weighty, and he's a good choreographer. Hope this team sticks together for a while.
Finally, Countdown To Mystery #4 gets the Eclipso out of Jean (duplicating that part of Countdown) and back into Bruce Gordon; and introduces the new Doctor Fate to his "new" Inza. I continue to like the Fate series even if it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Ironically, I'm also starting to like the Eclipso story more because it seems to be developing a plot. The art in "Eclipso" is a bit T&A oriented, and the dialogue isn't anywhere near Gerber's "Fate" work, but it's not as bad as it has been.
CREDITS
52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen #6. Written by Keith Giffen, pencilled by Pat Olliffe, inked by John Stanisci.
The All-New Atom #19. Written by Keith Champagne, pencilled by Jerry Ordway, inked by Trevor Scott.
Bat Lash #2. Written by Sergio Aragones & Peter Brandvold, drawn by John Severin.
Countdown To Final Crisis #17. Written by Paul Dini and Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, story consultant Keith Giffen, pencilled by Ron Lim, inked by Jimmy Palmiotti.
Countdown To Final Crisis #16. Written by Paul Dini and Tony Bedard, story consultant Keith Giffen, pencilled by Pete Woods & Tom Derenick, inked by Wayne Faucher.
Countdown To Mystery # 4. "Eclipso" written by Matthew Sturges and drawn by Stephen Jorge Segouia; "Doctor Fate" written by Steve Gerber, pencilled by Justiniano, and inked by Walden Wong.
Detective Comics #840. Written by Paul Dini, pencilled by Dustin Nguyen, inked by Derek Fridolfs.
Green Arrow and Black Canary #4. Written by Judd Winick, drawn by Cliff Chiang.
Green Lantern Corps #20. Written by Peter Tomasi, pencilled by Patrick Gleason and Carlos Magno, inked by PRentis Rollins, Tom Nguyen, Drew Geraci, Rodney Ramos, & Rebecca Buchman.
Howard the DuckJLA Classified #50. Written by Roger Stern, pencilled by John Byrne, inked by Mark Farmer.
Nightwing #140. Written by Peter Tomasi, pencilled by Rags Morales, inked by Michael Bair.
The Spirit #12. Written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke.
Supergirl #25. Written by Kelley Puckett, pencilled by Drew Johnson & Lee Ferguson, inked by Ray Snyder.
Superman #672. Written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Peter Vale, inked by Wellington Diaz.
Teen Titans Lost Annual #1. Written by Bob Haney, pencilled by Jay Stephens, inked by Mike Allred.
Teen Titans Year One #1. Written by Amy Wolfram, art by Karl Kerschl, Serge Lapointe, and Steph Peru.
1 comment:
"a big blur of spandex"
I dunno aboot 'blur', but using 'big' and 'spandex' in the same sentence *is* tempting the Google Search Request Gods [grin]...
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