New comics 8/5/09

This week it's Unknown Soldier #10 (making up for its omission last time), plus Agents Of Atlas #9, Astro City: The Dark Age Book 3 #4, Captain America Reborn #2, Doom Patrol #1, House of Mystery #16, Justice League: Cry For Justice #2, Marvels Project #1, Secret Six #12, Spirit #32, Superman: World Of New Krypton #6, Warlord #5, and Wednesday Comics #5. Sorry about the lingering sound-quality issues -- I used to know how to work a microphone.

By the way, it seems like I might have gotten a copy of The Marvels Project #1 a week early -- but there it was, and who am I to argue?

And just for the record, I was pretty mystified, and more than a little creeped out, about Green Lantern and Green Arrow's "threesome" conversation.

Download it here, or visit the podcast homepage here.

(Music by R.E.M.)

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New comics 7/22/09

This week's podcast features Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #2, Final Crisis: Legion Of Three Worlds #5, Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #3, Gotham City Sirens #2, Green Lantern #44, Madame Xanadu #s 11-12, The Spirit #31, Power Girl #3, Supergirl #43, and Wednesday Comics #3.

Sorry in advance about some lingering sound-quality issues. This is also the second week in a row in which I use the phrase "boy band."

Once again, Olivia contributes from the peanut gallery, and R.E.M. supplies the music. Download it here, or visit the podcast homepage here.

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Watching the detectives

Fan reactions to the fast-approaching Spirit movie seem pretty uniform to me: it's more Sin City than Will Eisner.

It makes me wonder: isn't Frank Miller's style really better-suited to Dick Tracy? Likewise, what if Warren Beatty had made a Spirit movie instead of Tracy? (A commenter on this YouTube version of the Tracy trailer wants a crossover.)

Granted, Beatty's Dick Tracy was only about "bringing a comic strip to life" as far as it involved garish art direction and broad acting. Beatty would have had to appreciate the way Eisner used a comics page, and somehow translated that to a static frame for moving pictures. In a way, I suppose the Sin City movie, with its uber-faithful recreation of Miller's work, tried to do just that.

And you know, I ask "what if Warren Beatty...?," but really, a Warren Beatty Spirit isn't my first choice, because I wasn't that thrilled with Dick Tracy and I doubt his comics sensibilities have been tuned any finer in the past eighteen years. I guess I'm asking why Frank Miller has apparently abandoned The Spirit's nominally graceful, light attitude -- and that may be asking why Frank didn't just adapt Sugar & Spike; or why no director has staged a Batman-movie fight around a giant typewriter. The medium has limitations, and the audience has expectations.

I still think Miller's a better fit for Dick Tracy, though....

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New comics 7/23/08

Apropos to the release today of the new X Files movie, let's start with The X Files vol. 2 #0, written by show writer/producer Frank Spotnitz and drawn by Brian Denham. It's a 22-page comic book which tells a self-contained story that -- as far as I know -- doesn't tie into the movie at all. Instead, it's chock fulla references to the show, including the "Post Modern Prometheus" episode and the "I made this!" sound bite. Most of its first page is a sequence of images pulled from the opening titles. In short, it seems to want most to say how great!, just great! it is to be back in the saddle.

And an old saddle it is, too -- this is an episode which could have taken place at any time after "PoMoPro" and before Mulder's abduction. I could try to pinpoint it from Scully's hairdo, but I don't have all my DVDs at the moment. The story won't be unfamiliar to fans of the series, since it involves kidnapping, body-hopping, and arrested aging. I wish I could say it was a more lively affair, but what would probably sound natural coming from the actors just comes across flat on the page. Maybe it's because there is little space for anything but the main plot -- very little humor, and nothing in the way of meaningful Mulder/Scully interaction. The plot itself is hard to keep straight, mostly since one of the main players is never seen.

The art, however, is fairly good, and it gets a big boost from Kelsey Shannon's coloring. Shannon keeps things moody for the most part, but occasionally enhances the wide-open spaces which helped convey the show's sense of isolation. (Clouds reflected on a car hood are a nice touch.) Denham does likenesses well, although at times his faces seem two-dimensional. Honestly, this issue reads like one of those 8-page stories TV Guide would advertise in some Special Collector's Issue. I read a good bit of Topps' X Files comic back when the show was in its heyday, so I know that translation need not be a problem. I want to believe (sorry) that this issue's done-in-one format contributed to my problems. This creative team is certainly worth watching, and I'll probably pick up X Files #1.

And as long as we're talking about licensed properties, Star Trek: New Frontier #5 (written by Peter David, drawn by Stephen Thompson) wraps up the current miniseries with an issue which does little to untangle any of its confusing bits. I might read it again, and if I ever decide to catch up on the prose NF offerings, I might find this miniseries more enjoyable. Wish I didn't have to have those conditions, though.

In a nice change of pace from wacky setting-based antics, The Spirit #19 offers three stories, each written by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier. They're all fairly pleasant. The first (drawn by Jason Armstrong) reveals how the Spirit dealt with a childhood bully; the second (pencilled by Aluir Amancio and inked by Terry Austin) finds the Spirit catching up to a reformed criminal; and the third (drawn by Paul Rivoche) is a whodunit about the murder of a comic-book artist. Again, it's not that they're done poorly -- far from it -- but nothing strikes me as especially innovative.

I hesitate to say that something like Batman: Gotham After Midnight (#3 written by Steve Niles and drawn by Kelley Jones) comes closer to what I expect from a Spirit book, but GAM does have a unique sense of design. This particular issue features a monstrous Clayface, engorged on the bodies of random Gothamites, and a very silly ending. It's a superhero comic book which isn't ashamed to be a superhero comic book. As part of that aforementioned silly ending, Clayface calls the screaming rabble "puny humans," and Batman commands him to "pick on someone [his] own size." If you don't mind that level of dialogue, and you like Kelley Jones, you'll like this book. In any event, it's better than the Millar/Hitch Fantastic Four.

Green Lantern Corps #26 (written by Peter Tomasi, pencilled by Patrick Gleason, inked by Drew Geraci) concludes the Black Mercy/Mongul storyline in a way that, were Alan Moore dead, might just get him spinning in his grave. I didn't mind it, but I'm a little more forgiving. Mongul suffers an ironic punishment, and Mother Mercy herself ... well, that's the part which I suspect would offend whatever's left in him that hasn't yet been offended by DC. Aah, I'm probably making too much of it. The issue was fine. Tomasi seems to fit better here than at Nightwing, and Gleason and Geraci are reliably good.

Penciller Renato Guedes, inker Wilson Magalhaes, and colorist Hi-Fi provide a nice Jack Kirby pastiche in Superman #678 (written by James Robinson). It fills in the background of Kirby's one-off character Atlas, revealing who brought him into the 21st Century, plus why and how. The rest of the issue continues the fight between Atlas and Superman, ending (much as #677 did) with the promise of more fighting. For his part, Robinson's omniscient narration gives Atlas' story a somewhat wistful tone, although Atlas doesn't seem entirely sympathetic. The present-day scenes are pretty good too -- Atlas is basically a big slab of muscle, drawn beefy and bulky so that he can stand believably against Superman. This is basic superhero stuff -- active figures against believable backgrounds -- but it's all done very well.

More action in Justice League of America #23 (written by Dwayne McDuffie, drawn by Ed Benes), as the JLA takes on Amazo. This time, though, Benes doesn't seem as concerned with his female figures, and the issue benefits as a result. Practically the whole thing is devoted to the fight, with a dozen or so Justice Leaguers each getting their licks in, but Benes keeps everything moving. There are a couple of awkward panels (one where Amazo holds a helpless Flash, one where perspective makes Wonder Woman look about 8 feet tall), but on the whole it was a good issue. McDuffie's script makes Amazo a credible threat and the Leaguers capable opponents.

It wasn't until about halfway through The Brave and the Bold #15 (written by Mark Waid, drawn by Scott Kolins) that I realized this issue's headliners (Nightwing and Hawkman) were intended to match up with last issue's (Deadman and Green Arrow). Nightwing and Deadman both come from the circus (Deadman's costume even inspired Nightwing's first one), and Green Arrow and Hawkman have a longstanding friendly rivalry. Anyway, this issue boils down to pushing the Reset Button, but first, Nightwing must trick every other superhero (including Ambush Bug!) into leaving the planet. Therefore, he and Hawkman (the designated expert on magic) have no backup as they storm the demon-possessed Nanda Parbat. Like JLA, it's well-choreographed action backed up by snappy dialogue.

And finally, if snappy dialogue is what you crave, look no farther than to Ambush Bug: Year None #1 (plotted and pencilled by Keith Giffen, scripted by Robert Loren Fleming, inked by Al Milgrom). Its sense of humor might not be for everyone. This particular issue mocks DC's alleged misogyny, with the Bug asking right off the bat "[d]o you have any major appliances that don't come with a dead body in it?" and the female salesperson replying "It's a standard feature." Indeed, throughout the issue female corpses are used as cannon fodder (which I think refers to something tasteless Bill Willingham said last year in San Diego). Anyway, ABYN's targets are many and varied, but modern storytelling techniques get hit pretty hard, especially narrative-caption boxes. Oh, how I laughed. This may be 2008's Architecture and Mortality; and if you remember how much I liked that story, that's pretty high praise.

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Spirits of the Times: Will Eisner's Life, In Pictures

The Will Eisner anthology Life, In Pictures (W.W. Norton, 2007) contains two substantial graphic novels, two shorter stories, and a vignette, each based at least in part on the personal experiences of the extended Eisner family. Those factual underpinnings help the stories avoid veering into melodrama. Combined with Eisner's considerable storytelling talents, the book as a whole is a sweeping, powerful survey of the society which shaped him and those he loved.

Of course, I come to Will Eisner's work largely through his most famous creation, the masked detective known as The Spirit. Eisner used the weekly Spirit stories as vehicles for his own experiments with the craft of writing and drawing comic books. Today, DC Comics publishes a Spirit comic book which at a minimum attempts to capture both Eisner's designs and the light-hearted attitude which infused most of those stories.

Nothing so portable is on display in Life, In Pictures. The story of interest to most superhero fans will probably be "The Dreamer" (1986), Eisner's autobiographical account of his early days as a cartoonist. Since "The Dreamer" also covers the birth of superhero comic books, it features thinly-disguised analogues of Harry Donenfeld, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, Bob Kane, Jerry Iger, Jack Kirby, and other early luminaries. (Detailed annotations follow the story.) This is also perhaps the book's happiest story in the book. The four-page vignette "The Day I Became A Professional," which closes out Life, works well as a go-get-'em supplement to this story.

According to editor Denis Kitchen's introduction, "A Sunset In Sunshine City" (1985), which opens the book, came out of Eisner's 1984 move to Florida from his native New York City. There, apparently, the biographical portion ends, although apparently Eisner incorporated his changing attitudes about moving. The story begins as a bittersweet remembrance of the protagonist's long career running a local cafeteria, set against a snowy New York. As the memories wind down, though, Eisner leaves enough hanging that the reader wonders whether the story might shift gears; and sure enough it does, following our hero to his sunny retirement home and a different set of concerns. At twenty-eight pages, it's shorter than any of the other "big" stories, but it also does the most with its small cast. Characters win and lose the reader's sympathy, until everything finds an appropriate equilibrium at the end.

Perhaps the book's centerpiece is "To The Heart Of The Storm" (1990), Eisner's 204-page tale of family history. As Eisner rides the train which will take him to boot camp, and from there to the horrors of World War II, his memories reveal his family's struggles with anti-Semitism. Some give up their faith, some try to coexist, and some simply try to see the good in people. Through it all, Eisner manages his large cast well, connecting generations efficiently and using the view through the train's windows to set the flashbacks' scenes. Even the flashbacks-within-flashbacks avoid being confusing. While the reader might learn to expect the worst, somehow the family perseveres, and of course the reader is assured by Eisner's own success.

Following that tale is the slightly shorter (167 pages) "The Name Of The Game" (2001), Eisner's fictionalized account of his wife's family history. This is the book's most soap-operatic story, dealing with the constant struggle of German Jews to improve their status in life through marriage. Eisner jumps forward in time, and fills in background, with blocks of text, which only distracts from the story in the introduction of one character. The main character is the family's patriarch, seen first as a spoiled brat who grows into a stereotypical rich dilettante and must have responsibility practically shoved down his throat. Indeed, he looks better as the story progesses primarily because the people around him regularly act just as bad. This is also a tale of struggle, although it's a struggle to keep up appearances. It too achieves a kind of equilibrium, but the story's statement that the characters lived "happily ever after" is clearly meant ironically.

Speaking personally for a moment, I can't finish many "real-life" Will Eisner stories without having to sit and think about them for several minutes afterward. I don't want to dismiss any of this book as simple melodrama, because that implies that Eisner is manipulating the reader unfairly. Nothing about these stories strikes me as frivolous or gratuitous. With each story, Eisner knows the points he wants to make and makes sure each page reinforces those points. Characters cheat, drink, lie, and steal. Some receive an appropriate comeuppance, and some don't. Through it all, though, the reader becomes involved with their lives, even as he can see Eisner's hands guiding them through those lives. I'm glad I got to know these folks, and glad they could bring me closer to a creator I've long admired.

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Friday Night Fights

The Spirit Jam teamed Will Eisner and his most famous creation with dozens of comics professionals.


Of course, one thing stayed the same ...


... the Spirit dished out, and took, a lot of punishment.

I'll try not to sing out of key, Bahlactus!

[From Spirit Jam, reprinting a story from The Spirit Magazine #30, July 1981. This sequence scripted by Mike W. Barr, pencilled by Joe Staton, inked by Bob Smith, and lettered by Todd Klein. Project coordinated by Will Eisner, Denis Kitchen, and Cat Yronwode.]

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New comics 5/21/08

Yes, these are comics from ten days ago. Memorial Day Weekend was just too jam-packed, and I came out of it apparently itching to write a 2200-word dissertation on Crisis On Infinite Earths, the original JLA/JSA team-ups, and the problems with line-wide events.

Therefore, might as well begin with the lead-in to the latest LWE, Justice League of America #21 (written by Dwayne McDuffie, pencilled by Carlos Pacheco, inked by Jesus Merino). I really, really hope that this is the last crossover-affected issue of JLA for a while. It begins with a 9-page sequence of the "Trinity" sitting around a table talking about how they're not really running the League from behind the scenes. I thought the dialogue was good ("I had a run-in with Mr. Polka-Dot." "Is that a euphemism?"). However, although Pacheco kept the talking heads from getting too boring, he could have used a few flashback images. Overall, it assumes a little too much knowledge, even on the part of the longtime reader. I presume this will have repercussions in JLA itself, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it showed up later in Trinity.

The bulk of the issue concerns the Human Flame, his fight with Red Arrow and Hawkgirl, and his recruitment by Libra. HF is a schmoe, that's for sure; but he's not the stereotypical lovable-loser supervillain schlub. McDuffie gives him a mean streak that undercuts whatever sympathy we might be starting to feel. Likewise, Pacheco doesn't play up any endearing parts of his dumpy appearance. Overall, this was a well-told story, but I still think it should have been in a Secret Files.

For those of you who know the dirty secret of cruise ships -- namely, that they give the surviving passengers hush money to cover up all the deaths -- the nautical nastiness depicted in The Spirit #17 (written by Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones, pencilled by Aluir Amancio, inked by Terry Austin) will come as no surprise. This was yet another light-hearted, compact caper using Will Eisner's characters and designs; but one of the subplots seemed pretty obvious and the other only slightly less so. Also, from what little I've read of the original Spirit stories, I don't remember Ellen Dolan being such a self-absorbed Barbie doll. Amancio and Austin's work is more cartoony than Paul Smith or Mike Ploog, but it gets the job done.

According to the first page of Fantastic Four #557 (written by Mark Millar, pencilled by Bryan Hitch, inked by Paul Neary), I should have read Mighty Avengers #11 first. However, I don't know why; and I'm not eager to track down a 3-month-old issue to find out. Anyway, I did like how Reed and Sue celebrate their anniversary, but the rest of it is a bunch of exposition wrapped around a one-joke fight scene. I can kind-of accept "the Anti-Galactus," but things like Johnny's nympho supervillain girlfriend and the faux-drama about Reed being tempted just seem artificial. The snow effects look better this time, though.

Captain America #38 (written by Ed Brubaker, pencilled by Steve Epting, inked by Epting and Mike Perkins) (re)introduces what I presume is the last player in this particular arc, and sets him up against Bucky/Cap. It's hard to explain without giving everything away, but I'll try. Using a raid on an AIM base as its main sequence, the issue examines the relationships of mentors and proteges, and inspirations and successors; and observes that, for the three principals involved, those roles have shifted, if not outright reversed. It's a neat little chapter which probably sums up at least one of Brubaker's overriding themes, and while it might appear to be a simple action issue, there's a lot more going on.

For the second straight month, Tangent: Superman's Reign (#3 written by Dan Jurgens, pencilled by Jamal Igle, inked by Robin Riggs) focuses on the squad of Tangenteers trying to free the Tangent Atom. While that subplot achieves some closure, and the two worlds' characters actually come into conflict (as opposed to comparing notes), it still feels a little redundant. I like Igle's work fine, although Riggs' inks are looser than what Igle usually gets. It feels more like a Justice League story than what's been in JLA lately; and next issue I bet things will pick up.

The "Dark Side Club" banner started appearing on particular DC titles last week, and it looks like the kind of underground fight-club we've seen before. Specifically, Birds Of Prey #118 (written by Tony Bedard, pencilled by Nicola Scott, inked by Doug Hazlewood) opens with a fight involving Sparx, a D-list character whose abduction we see in the first issue of Final Crisis. So, you know, there's that crossover element we like so much. The rest of the issue involves Black Alice and Misfit fighting, again. This issue introduces a new aspect of their relationship which leads to a result I wasn't expecting. However, I wasn't expecting it because their relationship feels artificially manipulated to begin with, and the latest twist just seems like another manipulation. Scott and Hazlewood are good as always, with (I hate to say it) a grisly, shadowy death being a particular highlight.

The new issue of The Flash (#240, written by Tom Peyer, drawn by Freddie Williams II) also sports a "Dark Side Club" banner, but it's incidental to the main story of Wally and Jay vs. Grodd and Spin. I can't complain any more about Williams' chunky Flash, because he seems to have gotten through that phase. I also got a kick out of this issue's mind-control victims talking in Local-Newscast-ese -- it's funny 'cause it's true. The cliffhanger makes me wonder about the length of the current setup, though....

Finally, here's Jay Garrick again, teaming up with Batman in The Brave and the Bold #13 (written by Mark Waid, pencilled by Jerry Ordway, inked by Scott Koblish and Bob McLeod). They make a good team, because the easygoing Jay not only provides a good counterpoint to Batman's intensity, Batman respects him and so dials it back a few notches. The plot, involving an old Bat-villain, a mad scientist, killer robots, and Jay's chemist colleagues, may be more complicated than it needs to be, but it's probably necessary to get these two characters together. I daresay Ordway's more understated style is better-suited to this story's amiable nature than George Perez's would have been; and Waid provides good conversation amongst all the robot-smashing.

Look for the comics from Thursday (Happy Grant Morrison Day!) in the next couple of days.

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New comics 4/23/08

Well, Countdown ended on Wednesday, so I talked about it on Thursday. I thought it suffered from a lack of focus which, while understandable, was also avoidable.

Still, I did buy other comics, and here they are.

Star Trek: New Frontier #2 (written by Peter David, drawn by Stephen Thompson) brings in a couple more NF characters, just when I was starting to get used to the ones already in play. Essentially, everything's moving towards a confrontation with Jellico and the stolen timeship at New Thallon, but the waiting gives us time for some character interaction. Overall the issue was fine. Exposition was integrated pretty well into dialogue. (There are no narrative captions -- not even a Captain's Log -- in the entire issue, which is a little odd for a Trek comic.) A new Galaxy-class starship comes into the picture too, which is confusing for those of us expecting the only such ship to be the Excalibur. Anyway, the art is about the same as last issue -- rougher than I'm used to for a Trek comic, but true to the aesthetic. Three issues to go, and I have a feeling everything will happen in the last one.

It looks like Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier put all their social commentary into the latest Groo miniseries and let themselves go wacky with The Spirit (#16 written by them and drawn by Paul Smith). Denny Colt is hardly as dense as Groo, but in this issue he errs -- in a well-meaning way, of course. The Spirit goes Hollywood to solve an on-set murder. While it looks play-fair at first, about halfway through it starts getting deliberately convoluted, so the reader is left to relax and let everything play out. Since that includes, among other things, a Carson Kressly parody and a stuntman gig (reminiscent of "bring in the double!" from that one Daffy Duck cartoon), the murder seems almost beside the point. With Paul Smith showing off his cartooning chops, the issue looks really good, but again, it's only Eisneresque on the surface.

Dwayne McDuffie devotes most of Justice League of America #20 (drawn by Ethan Van Sciver) to Wally West's struggle with rejoining the JLA. In its way, it's reminiscent of the "should I be a superhero?" angst which Wally went through 25 years ago, back in the New Teen Titans days -- only now, Wally has his own family, instead of worrying about his parents and girlfriend back home. Thus, Wally and Wonder Woman fight the Queen Bee while WW prods him to live up to his League responsibilities. I thought this issue was executed pretty well. McDuffie writes Wally and Diana well, and while Van Sciver's art is a little stiff, it's miles ahead of Ed Benes' sketchy, pose-heavy work. (The storytelling involving WW at the end is a little unclear, though.) I'd have liked more than two JLAers and a Black Lightning cameo in McDuffie's first crossover-free issue, but it sounds like he'll have time to do his own thing soon enough.

I don't know what happened to regular artists Tony Daniel and Jonathan Glapion, but fill-in penciller Ryan Benjamin and fill-in inker Saleem Crawford bring a bit too much '90s Image overthinking to Batman #675 (written, of course, by Grant Morrison). This issue is the bridge between the alternate-Batmen arc and next issue's "Batman R.I.P.," and it exists apparently to elevate Bruce's girlfriend Jezebel Jade to Silver St. Cloud status. It's the secret-identity dilemma of a familiar "Bruce is trapped in public" situation, only this time Bruce is somehow unable to find a good spot to change. Maybe it's the presence of a Ten-Eyed Assassin, the cult which was part of Bruce's epiphany during the Year of 52. Anyway, I don't have much of a problem with Morrison's script (which also includes scenes for Robin, Nightwing, and Talia), but the art is pretty distracting.

Sean McKeever's last issue of Birds Of Prey (#117, pencilled by Nicola Scott and inked by Doug Hazlewood) turns out to be his best. Misfit gets to show off without being annoying. The Platinum Flats supervillains are both believably low-rent and scary. Oracle makes good decisions. It's a good issue which tests our heroes but doesn't dwell on their troubles, and as always it's told well sequentially by Ms. Scott and Mr. Hazlewood. The bar has been set high for Tony Bedard.

Finally, I say goodbye to Checkmate, as writers Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann turn in their last issue (#25, drawn by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson). I can't say much about the plot without spoiling it, except that the Rooks take advantage of a truly scary and dangerous mind-link to do their thing as well as they do. Sasha gets a scene with Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman compliment Checkmate, and the final twist took me completely by surprise. Rucka and his co-writer(s) went out on top, and I think it's best to go out with 'em.

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New comics 3/26/08

Countdown #5 (written by Paul Dini and Adam Beechen, story consultant Keith Giffen, pencilled by Jim Starlin, inked by Rodney Ramos) continues the apocalyptic doings from last issue, with the ominous Buddy Blank narration, the expected trip to the bunker, and the also-expected departure of "our" heroes back to the main DC-Earth. It's a harrowing issue, but in the great scheme of things it's hard to say where it fits. I mean, we don't yet know how important Earth-Kamandi will be to the series as a whole; and if the point of these few issues was to show that Earth's origin, and leave it at that, like a Paul Harvey story, well ... it seems kinda perfunctory. I guess if any series can make the end of the world feel like a side trip, Countdown can. (In fact, it already has -- remember the Earth Superboy-Prime destroyed, a few months back?) Accordingly, I'm not sure why it took Jim Starlin to draw this issue, and why we needed to see a Legionnaire devoured by rats.

Countdown To Adventure #8's lead story (written by Adam Beechen, pencilled by Allan Goldman, inked by Julio Ferreira) concludes about how you'd expect, but it's still fun to see Ellen Baker team up with Adam Strange. On its own it's a lot of fighting and shooting and heroic poses, and overall the arc has been pretty good. I can't say the same for the Forerunner story (written by Justin Gray, drawn by Fabrizio Fiorentino and Adam DeKraker), which might make more sense if I ever decide to revisit it, but which does end on a somewhat unexpected note. The story and art have improved over the past few months, but I didn't have much interest in Forerunner before, and I don't appear to now.

Teen Titans #57 (written by Sean McKeever, pencilled by Eddy Barrows, inked by Jimmy Palmiotti and Ruy Jose) continues the "Terror Titans" arc. This issue focuses on Ravager's fight against a couple of Terror Titans, juxtaposed against Robin's attempts at making up with Wonder Girl. I liked the issue pretty well. I thought it was paced well, I liked Barrows' storytelling, I think Palmiotti and Jose improve on his pencils, and I liked how Ravager was written. So, good job, all; and see you next month!

Green Lantern #29 (written by Geoff Johns, pencilled by Ivan Reis, inked by Oclair Albert) begins "Secret Origin," yet another look at Hal Jordan's life. Apparently Hal did just about anything he wanted to from a very early age. The End. Oh, okay, this issue goes into Hal's combative relationships with his mother and brothers, which in turn are based in his hero-worship of his dad, who you'll remember crashed his jet as young Hal watched. If you've been following Johns' work on the character, there won't be too many surprises here, except maybe for the details about his mom. As for the art, I found myself wondering if maybe Reis and Albert might have stepped aside for the flashback scenes. They're quite good on the regular sci-fi superhero material, but somehow their work felt a little too meticulous for this kind of coming-of-age story.

For some reason that I only noticed with this issue, Jim Gordon looks like Captain Kangaroo (with glasses) all throughout Batman Confidential #15 (written by Tony Bedard, pencilled by Rags Morales, inked by Mark Farmer). It's Part 3 of "Wrath Child," in which we learn the origin of the original Wrath and the startling secret of the current one. I like this story because it's high-concept: a supervillain who's the evil duplicate of Batman, fighting Batman and the newly-emancipated Nightwing. It provides a few fun touches: a flashback reveals a '60s-TV-show-style Batcopter and Batboat, and at one point Dick slams fist into palm a la Burt Ward, exclaiming "Holy--!" to boot. Morales' and Farmer's work is dynamic and clean, and I note approvingly that Morales draws this Nightwing to look appropriately younger than the Nightwing he currently draws in the eponymous book. Looking forward to the end of this one, but wishing this team would do more of the same.

The Spirit #15 (written by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier, drawn by Paul Smith) presents a diamond-smuggling switcheroo farce. It wants to be witty and nimble, but sadly comes up short. Although Paul Smith is an able cartoonist who apes Eisner's character designs well, he doesn't go in for the storytelling or layout flourishes that helped distinguish Darwyn Cooke's work. As for the story, Aragones and Evanier are normally very witty on Groo, but many of the gags here seem forced and/or familiar.

The mostly-prose Star Trek spinoff, New Frontier, gets another comic-book story with the new miniseries "Turnaround" (issue #1 written by Peter David and drawn by Stephen Thompson). I haven't read a New Frontier story in a few years, and it looks from this issue that there have been some changes to the cast. Of course, that assumes you're familiar with the cast in the first place. Otherwise, the story doesn't do much to introduce the players. Essentially, an experimental starship goes missing, Captain Calhoun and the USS Excalibur investigate, there's unrelated political intrigue featuring an ex-officer, and another ex-officer is now one of Trek's ubiquitous omnipotent beings. Oh, and there's another familiar-looking person on Excalibur who can pop in, EMH-like, when the story requires. The art is decent enough -- everything and everyone look appropriately Trek-y, and there aren't too many likenesses to worry about. It's not the worst Trek comic art I've seen, but not the best either. I will admit to being intrigued enough by the setup to come back for issue #2, but part of that is the hope that various subplots will start to knit together.

Finally, All-Star Superman #10 (written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Frank Quitely) is a poignant look at the last days of Superman ... at least on his particular Earth. I'm sure you've read about the synchronicity of this issue's conclusion with the Siegel heirs' legal victory, but even before I learned about that I was struck by Morrison's ability to evoke Superman. Morrison and Quitely use the image of Superman's literary creation as a touchstone for the character as ideal, which is a little ironic considering that they're working on an "ideal" version of the character.

But it's only an ideal from our perspective, isn't it? We're used to Superman as a commodity -- as copyright maintenance, as trademark material. We see Superman used as a sales-goosing guest star, as the center of a mythology that expands or contracts with the times, as a paragon of virtue challenged endlessly by fans who want something darker and more realistic.

All-Star Superman #10 speaks instead to "Superman's" power to lead by example. It's about inspiration, creation, and imitation in an endless cycle ("neverending," per the story's title). The hero of this story may be dying, but his legacy lives; just as the hero created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster all those years ago has produced a body of work full of its own entertainment and inspiration. I don't mean to evangelize in such a purple way, and the image of a dying Superman is certainly not the hardest way to create sympathy in a reader -- but this issue pulls together the thematic threads of the series so well, and sets up its climax so effectively.

Morrison and Quitely's Superman speaks in simple, declarative sentences. He wears a costume which looks homemade, but not undignified. He's the center of his world, and this issue shows him preparing that world for his departure. Whether the series will actually end with his death seems immaterial at this point.

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New comics 2/20/08

The Brave and the Bold #10 (written by Mark Waid, pencilled by George Perez, inked by Scott Koblish) presents another time-hopping extravaganza for what has turned out to be Perez's last issue. After a prologue with the Challengers of the Unknown, Superman and the Silent Knight team up to fight a dragon and destroy a Megistus-related gizmo. In this story, Waid uses the Knight as a first-person narrator, but the narration isn't the usual hip-thought-balloon substitute. Instead, as a one-page montage of their travels demonstrates, the Knight is actually telling the story himself, thereby (at the risk of being redundant) narrating. So that was nice. The second half of the issue is a fun look at Aqualad through the eyes of the original Teen Titans, Aquaman, and Megistus himself. (The Big M alludes to the powers that the adult Garth will manifest as Tempest.) Set around Aquaman's wedding to Mera, it includes cameos by the Justice League and a neat set of jokes at the expense of Wonder Woman's earrings. Perez' work is, of course, great as always, and I'm sorry to see him go -- but as long as Waid and new penciller Jerry Ordway are on board, this will be one of DC's best titles.

I liked the big payoffs in Countdown #10 (written by Paul Dini and Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, story consultant Keith Giffen, drawn by Scott Kolins), and it's probably not worth complaining about the time it took to get to them. Harley, Holly, and Mary fight what I presume is a fresh-baked batch of Female Furies, Karate Kid fights the OMAC-ed Una, and it looks like everyone will have to fight all of Apokolips before too long. You'd think that with two powerhouses, a Green Lantern, an ex-Atom, and an ex-Robin, that wouldn't be too hard, but there are still nine issues to go. Kolins' art was good, although a little stiff and sketchy, kind of like Ron Lim. The dialogue was serviceable, because it really didn't have much to do beyond get the characters from one beat to the next. Finally, Scott Beatty and Bruce Timm contribute the very fun two-page Origin Of Harley Quinn.

The Salvation Run-fueled storyline continues in Justice League of America #18 (written by Alan Burnett, pencilled by Ed Benes, inked by Sandra Hope), and it doesn't improve that much. Burnett uses those first-person narrative-caption boxes Meltzer-style, which is to say that they're connected to the narrator/thinker only by their colors. The main story is fifteen pages long, but two of those are a rump-tastic double-page spread and most of it is a bunch of exposition and posturing between the League and the Suicide Squad. It's the kind of thing that turns me off of crossovers, and considering I've stuck with Countdown this long, that's not an easy thing to do. The backup story, by Dwayne McDuffie, Jon Boy Meyers, and Mark Irwin, is a Red Tornado spotlight that doesn't have much to do with anything. It describes the shiny new body Reddy is getting, and is probably intended to make him more sympathetic, but it just kind of sits there. I'm not terribly familiar with the artists, whose work is reminiscent of Todd Nauck's.

Birds Of Prey #115 (written by Sean McKeever, pencilled by Nicola Scott, inked by Doug Hazlewood) picks up with the Huntress and Lady Blackhawk tracking the old Blackhawk nemesis King Shark. Meanwhile, Oracle has to keep Misfit from killing Black Alice before BA can track down the magical menace who blew up a city block (and apparently killed Will & Grace) a couple issues back. This was a good issue, well-paced and fairly dialogue-driven. I expected the tension between Misfit and Black Alice to be a little wackier, given the cover, but Misfit comes across like a petulant kid ... which, of course, she is. I liked that McKeever was willing to take her there. Misfit is reminding me more of a non-psychopathic Tara Markov, and that's a good thing. Scott and Hazlewood turn in another fine issue, although I didn't quite get on the first pass the "lava burp" which downs the Blackhawk plane.

Yes, that's Superman in Checkmate #23 (written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann, pencilled by Joe Bennett, inked by Jack Jadson), and he's only part of the well-done first installment of "Castling." The deep-cover agent who's infiltrated Kobra sends out a desparate message, alerting Checkmate to a big threat on the horizon from the cult. The situation is so dire that only Superman can evac the agent, which he does in typical fashion. The highlight, though, is the relationship between Checkmate and Superman, which is a real pleasure to see portrayed. I liked this issue a whole lot. Bennett and Jadson's clean lines contrast well with Santiago Arcas' earthy color palette (Superman excepted, of course). Superman alludes to his previous dealings with a less charitable Checkmate, but ultimately he respects the current leadership and they respect the heck out of him. I'll hate to give this book up when Rucka and Trautmann leave in a couple of issues, but I don't see how too many writers could produce something this enjoyable.

Superman also appears in The Flash #237 (written by Keith Champagne, pencilled by Koi Turnbull, inked by Art Thibert), as the Wests take a field trip to Metropolis. Wally procrastinates about job interviews by going on superhero missions, while Linda sends the kids on a scavenger hunt. I'm of two minds about the art: on one hand, it's certainly kinetic and expressive, which is appropriate for the book; but on the other, it's almost too busy. The story also seemed rather unfocused. The job-interview scenes were cute (apparently Wally still has a secret identity as far as the general public is concerned), and I liked Linda's interaction with Lois Lane, but I had a hard time keeping the Metropolis plot straight. Tom Peyer starts as writer next issue, so I'm looking forward to that.

Batman Confidential #13 (written by Tony Bedard, pencilled by Rags Morales, inked by Mark Farmer) begins a new arc featuring The Wrath, a one-off villain from a 1980s Batman Special. Wrath's parents were criminals killed by a policeman -- James Gordon, in fact -- so his life takes an oddly familiar, yet twisted path. Now he's back, and killing policemen attending a Gotham police convention. This story takes place in the Disco Nightwing days (which makes me think Jason Todd should be around somewhere), so there's some tension between Dick and Bruce, and Leslie Thompkins is still in the picture too. I liked it pretty well -- Morales is a good storyteller, and I like Farmer inking him. I liked the cliffhanger, too.

I also liked Superman Confidential #12 (written by B. Clay Moore, pencilled by Phil Hester, inked by Ande Parks), almost more for the art than for the story. It's a fun start to an arc involving the origin of Jimmy Olsen's signal watch and the Toyman's giant killer robots. I've always liked Hester and Parks' thick-lined, "cartoony" style, though; and they suit this kind of light-hearted adventure very well.

Finally, The Spirit #14 introduces the new creative team of writers Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier, penciller Mike Ploog, and inker Mark Farmer, replacing writer/artist Darwyn Cooke. Their first issue is pretty entertaining -- a light murder mystery that didn't exactly play fair, but with a good sense of fun that carried it. Ploog and Farmer evoke Eisner's designs for the most part, although I thought their Spirit's jaw wasn't square enough and they didn't bring the same overall design schemes to the book that Cooke did.

So there you go. By the way, I still haven't gotten my scanner hooked up yet, but probably this week sometime.

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New comics 7/18/07

We begin this week with All Flash #1 (written by Mark Waid, drawn by various artists) ... and I can only speak for myself, but it felt really right to have Wally written by Waid again. Of all the writers who have handled Wally over the years -- among them John Broome, Cary Bates, Bob Rozakis, Marv Wolfman, Mike Baron, Bill Messner-Loebs, and Geoff Johns -- Wally and Waid seemed made for each other. I see a lot of commentators saying this effectively is a coda to Bart's Fastest Man Alive, and I don't disagree; and neither do I disagree that if the continuation of The Flash vol. 2 were drawn by Karl Kerschl, it would look fantastic. (It's got Daniel Acuna instead, and while I don't dislike Acuna, boy howdy does Kerschl's work sparkle here.) Much has been made as well of Wally's ironic punishment of Inertia, which is in many ways the point of this issue. I'd feel better if it were a prelude to the character's return, and even (as some suggested) to Bart's "return."

In the end, I liked the issue. Wally's departure was justified poorly, and his return was oddly reassuring, especially as voiced by Waid. Of course I'm looking forward to the regular Flash book, because that'll be the real test of Waid's speedster chops. I doubt we'll be saying goodbye to Wally again anytime soon.

Next up, another book Mark Waid used to write, Captain America #28 (written by Ed Brubaker, drawn by Steve Epting and Mike Perkins). It's the same format as last issue -- vignettes checking in with the book's current cast, mostly with Sin and the (new?) Serpent Squad as they prepare to break Crossbones out of jail. It hit me with this issue that there's still a lot I don't know about Cap's vast array of allies and enemies. Brubaker is evidently doing his best to work a lot of them into this story, and for the most part he's doing a good job of at least indicating who's good, who's evil, and who's got a long history I could probably find on Wikipedia. Ironically, though, the character I had the most trouble placing in this issue was Professor X. Seems like there's been another bald character in the book lately (or maybe I'm just hallucinating) and they all look like Lex Luthor. Anyway, still a good read.

Speaking of called-back characters, The Spirit #8 (by Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone) presents a twist on the cover-featured "cut the right wire" scenario. This time it's Agent Satin, who unfortunately reminded me of Erin Esurance early in the book when she's parachuting into the action. Anyway, that passed pretty quickly. The issue itself is pretty loaded, putting a lot of subplots into what boils down to cut-the-right-wire ... and, like I say, even that is a clever twist. However, it never feels coy or too clever, and the Spirit is only in it as a supporting character. It's even a sequel of sorts to a previous issue, but without so much as a footnote or express flashback to clutter the narrative. If I had to show someone what Cooke's Spirit was all about, I could do worse than give them this.

Reading the latest Action Comics (#852 written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Brad Walker, inked by John Livesay) made me wonder: why doesn't DC put Busiek into its Countdown rotation? If there's one thing at which Busiek excels, it's creating a sense of "movement away from the ball." Busiek is great at suggesting a larger world beyond the borders of a panel, a page, or an issue, and this story is no exception. Its focus on Jimmy connects his CD hijinx with the rest of the Superman plot. (This includes another reference to "Red Son" which pretty much spoils what has to be a big part of its ending, but in a perfect world that story would be long over anyway.) Unfortunately, I'm not clear about what's going on with the primates and the green goo (Kryptonite, I guess) because those scenes are hard to follow, and I'm still not on board with Brad Walker as a penciller. His stuff is a little too idiosyncratic to fit such a straight-laced book as Action. It worked for the quirky Secret Six, just not so much here.

The portion of the blogosphere which still reads Countdown seemed to recoil a lilttle less at this week's issue (#41 written by Paul Dini and Adam Beechen, drawn by Dennis Calero), and I'm in that camp too. Every scene seemed to be constructed just that much better: the Rogues on the run figure out how to survive a long fall; Harley and Holly get a vignette at the Athenian Women's Shelter; and even the one- and two-page check-ins with Mary Marvel and Donna & Jason feel more cohesive. It may be the result of accumulated backstory or the invisible hands of Keith Giffen, but whatever it is, it's working better. Dennis Calero is not an unfamiliar name, but I'm at a loss to remember something else he's drawn. His work's nice and simple, and it does what it needs to.

Two-thirds of the way through Amazons Attack (#4 written by Will Pfeifer, drawn by Pete Woods) and not only can I not tell where it ends and Wonder Woman begins, both series seem to be going over the same ground. Every installment features some unbelievable act of Amazonian carnage (here involving Air Force One), more tension between Wonder Woman and Hippolyta and Hippolyta and the other Amazons, more Circe scheming, etc. There’s barely a sense of plot movement despite having only two issues (well, plus the Wonder Woman issues, but still) to go. Thanks to Pete Woods, the book still looks very pretty.

Aquaman: Sword Of Atlantis #54 (written by Tad Williams, drawn by Shawn McManus) has too much going on. Aquaman and crew fight Black Manta in Sub Diego. There’s a new revelation involving the polar explorers. We check in with a couple of characters from the Peter David days. It’s charming enough, and I like what Williams and McManus have brought to the title, but it’s a strange combination of reliance on pre-OYL stories (maybe trying to win back that crowd?) and the new, oddball spin Williams has put on Kurt Busiek’s OYL "barbarian" concept. With three issues left in the title’s run, and so much plot, it all needs to start coming together.

The same applies to The Brave and the Bold #5 (written by Mark Waid, pencilled by George Perez, inked by Bob Wiacek), which takes a detour into the 31st Century so that Batman can outwit the current Legion of Super-Heroes. This gives Waid and Perez the opportunity to indulge themselves: Waid makes another Adam West reference, and Perez gets to work out with the Legion (a book which, he’s fond of saying, he’s never gotten to draw). There’s more with Supergirl, Green Lantern, and Adam Strange, and it’s all very fun and of course well-rendered; but again, it doesn’t feel like there’s just one issue to go in this arc.

If Brad Meltzer were staying on Justice League of America (#11 drawn by Gene Ha) longer than one more issue, I'd be more excited about this one-off tale of Red Arrow and Vixen trapped under the Watergate Hotel's wreckage. As it is, it's not a bad single-issue story. Meltzer clearly enjoys dialogue, and that's pretty much all this issue is, with only a few physical scenes to punctuate the tension. And in fact, there is a bit of tension, which is surprising considering the relative invulnerability of these characters. Good on Meltzer and Ha for that. A semi-significant aspect of Vixen's powers is revealed here too, in case a reader might feel that the story had no lasting impact. (It still might not, actually.) Ha's work is more diffuse here than his normal precise, fine lines, but it's still good, especially the way he plays with layouts towards the end. I kinda wish this had been more of a contrast from Meltzer's talky modus operandi, though.

Man, everything this week is ending or about to end, isn't it? Gail Simone's last Birds of Prey (#108 pencilled by Nicola Scott, inked by Doug Hazlewood) is an epilogue to the Spy Smasher story arc, as Barbara beats up on her rival something fierce. Afterwards Babs and Dinah reunite, sharing takeout with Huntress and Lady Blackhawk, and then Barbara picks up her newest official recruit. I haven't been back with this book for long, but I thought Simone had a touching farewell. I continue to be impressed with Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood -- their faces are especially expressive.

There's a bit of Checkmate #16 (written by Greg Rucka, pencilled by Joe Bennett, inked by Jack Jadson) which I halfway expected to see in BOP, and here it feels a touch out of place, but I suppose it fits better here than there. It's the Fire and Ice reunion, of course, and it's handled pretty deftly by all parties. It's actually very sweet, adding some more nuance to Fire's character (at least how she's been portrayed in this book). The rest of the book concerns itself with Sasha and Mr. Terrific, and sets up the downfall of Amanda Waller. Bennett and Jadson look really pretty good here -- their Fire/Ice scenes use a thicker line, subtly reminiscent of Adam Hughes and Joe Rubenstein's Justice League International work, but their Sasha/Michael scenes are thinner and more delicately rendered. All around, a fine issue.

Finally, here's the last issue (see? again!) of Jeff Smith's Shazam! The Monster Society Of Evil, and it's just as good as the other parts. Smith's Mr. Mind design is perfect -- menacing while still retaining the salient parts of the original. If this series isn't the tour de force of Cap villains that the original was, that's OK; as a revival/reimagining of the Captain Marvel mythology, it works very well. Now, of course, Smith has to do a sequel, so he can work Cap Jr. into the mix.

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New comics 6/20/07

We begin this week by picking up a spare from last week, Outsiders #48 (written by Judd Winick and Greg Rucka, pencilled by Ron Randall and Matthew Clark, inked by Art Thibert). It's Part 4 of the 6-part "Check/Out" crossover, and as such it features the Outsiders/Checkmate strike force's attempt to survive Oolong Island. Therefore, most of the issue is given over to shouting and fighting and movement and explosions and frantic dialogue. I was kind of surprised that I could follow the issue as well as I could, considering the fact that pencillers Randall and Clark seem to have divided up the issue pretty equally. Randall uses a thicker line, and I think his figures and composition are a bit more stable as a result, but really I couldn't tell much of a difference just reading the book. I ascribe that to inker Art Thibert, who's done his share of pencilling as well.

My main problem with the issue, and the crossover in general, was that it didn't make me any more sympathetic to the Outsiders themselves. I'm familiar with the well-established characters (Nightwing, Katana, Metamorpho), but I have to remind myself that "Owen"/"Boomer" is the new Captain Boomerang from Identity Crisis, and I know nothing about the two strong women (Grace and Thunder) beyond the broad strokes an action plot like this divulges. The book doesn't go out of its way to explain any of these people to this particular reader-just-along-for-the-crossover. (Each team having its own young red-haired guy doesn't help either.) This crossover also hasn't justified Outsiders' existence beyond being a random team of attitude-rich superheroes. Well, maybe it did a little, at the beginning, when there was some sense that Checkmate could take advantage of the group's cavalier approach to superheroics. Still, this title's got one more issue before Everything Changes with a new roster, and then it gets relaunched at some point in the future with Batman in charge. I guess what I'm saying is that this crossover could just as well have been a biweekly Checkmate arc for all it's made me care about the Outsiders. Still, this was a decent dumb-fun action issue.

Checkmate #15 (written by Rucka and Winick, pencilled by Joe Bennett, inked by Jack Jadson) presents Part 5 of "Check/Out," in which Nightwing, Boomer, and Sasha are tortured by Chang Tzu (can we call him "Egg Fu" anymore?) while the Checkmate high sheriffs negotiate with China for some assistance. In terms of craft, this was a better issue all around than Outsiders #48. Bennett and Jadson are a more solid team, and Rucka does a good job of laying out the various political issues and assigning their presentations to the appropriate characters. Checkmate has a much larger regular cast than Outsiders, but there they all are in roll-call format on the first page.

The one thing that I did not like about the issue, and it is not an insignificant complaint, is the attention paid to Boomer and Sasha's torture. The issue plays a darkly clever game with the reader by putting Nightwing -- who we know is "safe" from any permanent harm -- in a cell next to the torture chamber, thereby making him listen to his friends' anguished cries. In this way, and especially on the last page, "Check/Out" seems to set up pretty clearly the end of Nightwing's tenure as team leader. This is a particular blow to Nightwing's character, because for years, if not decades, it was the thing that most significantly separated him from Batman. As Titans leader, he was either rescuing his teammates (see "The Judas Contract" or "Titans Hunt") or sacrificing himself for him (i.e., in a few of the Brother Blood storylines). He's presented here as an ineffectual failure. Thus, while the issue does a good job of dramatizing just how deep these three are in their particular hole, the overall effect is not pleasant, and in fact kind of sickly voyeuristic.

I got a similar feeling reading The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13 (written by Marc Guggenheim, pencilled by Tony Daniel, inked by Daniel, Jonathan Glapion, and Marlo Alquiza). It was a gut-punch of an issue that apparently wanted to leave little doubt about Bart's fate. As I said on Thursday, I felt bad for Bart, but a lot of that had to do with the editorially-mandated aspects of his death. The fact that I didn't think he needed to die also contributed to my sadness that he did. Guggenheim and Daniel put together a decent issue, just in service of an unfortunate cause.

The other part of the Flash re-relaunch was, of course, Justice League of America #10 (written by Brad Meltzer, pencilled by Ed Benes, inked by Sandra Hope). While I am very, very happy at the return of Wally West -- I actually teared up a little; don't judge me -- this was an incredibly haphazard way to end "The Lightning Saga." First of all, it's not really over, because it obviously sets up more Old-Legion adventures in Countdown and other DC titles. Second, what in the name of little baby ducks does Wally West have to do with the Legion anyway? Third, I understand the Legion not wanting to tell the JLA and JSA that one of them will die when "whoever" is brought back, but that just means this is the old "Why didn't you ask us for help in the first place?" plot. Fourth, do I really have to list all of the ways in which Meltzer and Benes use innuendo and shorthand to create an illusion that things are happening? There were no real resolutions in this issue, at least not to the larger plot elements presented at the beginning of the crossover. Meltzer has some appealing ideas, but he treats them so reverently that before you know it, five issues are up and nothing's really gotten done.

I could probably say the same thing about Captain America #27 (written by Ed Brubaker, drawn by Steve Epting and Mike Perkins), but the difference is that the character scenes are hung on a plot that makes sense within the larger story arc. The Winter Soldier wants to reclaim Cap's shield, Sharon Carter struggles with her role in Cap's death, and she and the Falcon figure out where Bucky's headed with the shield. Oh, and Bucky reconnects with the Black Widow, his old Soviet-spy buddy. Epting and Perkins do a collectively fine job overall. I don't like their Tony Stark, but that's just me. Also, I wasn't sure it was "the" Black Widow, Natasha Romanov, because dialogue calls her "Natalia" and I don't know if that's an acceptable nickname. Other than those nitpicks, though, a really fine issue that advances the plot while still keeping the reader guessing about when any Captain America will headline his eponymous book again.

I continue to enjoy The Brave and the Bold (#4 written by Mark Waid, pencilled by George Perez, inked by Bob Wiacek), probably because it is unashamed of being a light, fun superhero title. This issue begins and ends with Batrok, and features a Lobo/Supergirl story which is fairly predictable but still enjoyable. It does appear that Supergirl has gotten more mature around Lobo than she was around Green Lantern a couple of issues ago -- Waid writes her as (let's say) early-20s, as opposed to late-teens -- but I like her better this way, so it works out.

In the same vein, Marvel gives us Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four #3 (written by Jeff Parker, pencilled by Mike Wieringo, inked by Wade von Grawbadger), which finds Spidey and 3/4 of the FF fighting aliens and dropping in on Dr. Doom and the High Evolutionary. There is nothing objectionable about this book.

You can guess the obvious segue into Countdown #45 (written by Paul Dini and I think Tony Bedard, although Palmiotti & Gray are credited; pencilled by J. Calafiore, inked by Mark McKenna). Actually, I kind of liked this issue, because it shows Donna Troy as a competent superhero for the first time in a while. An incongruous scene of her blasting away with an automatic rifle notwithstanding, she comes across believably as an Amazon warrior. However, the rest of the book is still in setup mode: Jimmy Olsen investigates Sleez's old tenement, Holly shows up when Jimmy leaves, and meanwhile the Legionnaires stuck in our time after JLofA #10 whine some more about being stuck on the JLA Satellite. Also, there has got to be a better way to distinguish between Monitors than their hairstyles. I'm begging you, DC: symbols, numbers, tattoos, whatever -- I just can't keep 'em straight anymore.

Finally, The Spirit #7 features three guest creative teams, and is largely successful. The first story, written by Walt Simonson and drawn by Chris Sprouse and Karl Story, concerns a no-good socialite (we know she's no good, because she's obviously reminiscent of Par-- I mean, She Who Must Not Be Named) and the Spirit's search for a missing diamond. It's pretty fun. The second story, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by Jordi Bernet, is more of an Eisner pastiche, because it features the indirect effects of a Spirit chase on the lives of tenement dwellers. Bernet's style is perhaps even more successful than Darwyn Cooke's at capturing the sort of organic cartoonishness of Eisner's work, so I think this is the most successful story in the issue. The last one, a sort of Spirit/Frank Miller mash-up parody by Kyle Baker, is rather an acquired taste. I thought excerpts of it were funny when I saw them online, but even for a short story the joke gets a little old. Still, like the man said, two out of three ain't bad.

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New comics 5/16/07 and 5/23/07

Would have gotten these up last night, but the traditional Memorial Day allergies started to kick in....

MAY 16, 2007

The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #12 (written by Marc Guggenheim, pencilled by Tony Daniel, inked by Art Thibert) is a fairly decent issue which suffers somewhat by the behind-the-scenes murmurings about Bart Allen's fate. I give it a lot of credit for setting up an inescapable doom-trap, but at the same time I have to think that the doom-trap won't actually kill Bart. I mean, that would be a little too grim, even for someone like me who still can't get past the arbitrary nature of his promotion. My appreciation of said trap is therefore blunted somewhat. I'm also kind of ambivalent about whether I want Bart to escape. I don't want him to die, but at the same time I don't think he should be the Flash just yet.

How was the book itself, you ask? Decent, like I said. No one seems to be out of character, but Bart himself is still such a cipher that it's hard to say at this point what would be in character. Daniel's storytelling skills are fine, but Thibert's inks are inconsistent. The "weight" of characters on the page varies, and more often than not the Flash especially looks two-dimensional. Still, there is that doom-trap, and the Black Flash, so I don't feel bad about coming back.

Countdown #50 (written by Paul Dini, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Justin Gray, pencilled by J. Calafiore, inked by Mark McKenna) has already been dissected by many of you, so I will just add some brief observations. First, if the cover suggests that the Joker has targeted Jimmy Olsen, that implies a much more exciting story than Jimmy happening to end up at Arkham Asylum for a stereotypical Hannibal Lecter conference. I'd want to read Joker vs. Jimmy, and I'd be lukewarm about Joker Talks To Jimmy. Second, the scenes with the Rogues go on far too long: five pages to establish a) they hate the Flash, whoever he might be, and b) Piper and Trickster's bona fides are in question. I thought this scene added nothing to the current Flash arc. I think Countdown is improving, but boy, it's not improving quickly.

Justice League of America #9 (written by Brad Meltzer, drawn by Ed Benes) gets a lot of things right -- the Gorilla City scenes, for instance -- but again, nothing much seems to happen. Teams of JLAers and JSAers just show up and collect Legionnaires like they were checking out library books. At least the three bad guys were revealed.

Action Comics #849 (written by Fabian Nicieza, pencilled by Allan Goldman, inked by Ron Randall) finishes the "Redemption" two-parter about like I figured. There are some intriguing ideas, and Kurt Busiek's social worker from an earlier Superman is used well, but ironically, I think Superman himself comes across as imposing his will on the common folk more than the story's antagonist does. The final confrontation features Superman hovering over the congregation making pronouncements, and while Clark muses later that his moral compass has to be pretty accurate, I don't think the congregants understood that point.

Aquaman: Sword Of Atlantis #52 (written by Tad Williams, drawn by Shawn McManus) finds our hero and his companions hatching a plan to free Sub Diego from Black Manta. This was not a dull issue, and I don't have much of a problem with the art, but the Sub Diego stuff is just not involving me like it wants to. Besides, both Busiek and Williams want Arthur to be The Decider, but so far neither of them have really presented a compelling case for that. Arthur's just a guy who can live underwater unaided and maybe occasionally talk to marine life, and right now that's not enough to get me excited about him. There are exciting and chilling moments in the issue, including the Black Manta fights and Aquagirl's story about the fate of some Sub Diegans, but Arthur should be the compelling center and he's not.

Checkmate #14 (written by Greg Rucka and Judd Winick, pencilled by Joe Bennett, inked by Jack Jadson) is a solid caper story wherein a Checkmate team and the Outsiders infiltrate Oolong Island. As usual, Rucka uses the caper to advance the book's various political subplots effectively. As a crossover, though, I have to say this storyline isn't encouraging me to pick up Outsiders on a more regular basis. Beyond Nightwing, none of these characters seem particularly exciting, and most of them are defined by their sarcasm and air of bad-assery. If Rucka and Winick each wrote their respective team's dialogue, Rucka wins. Bennett and Jadson do well enough, but the big action scene at the beginning suffers from faulty perspective. Specifically, I couldn't tell at first whether the monster was supposed to be looming over the ship or sitting atop it.

Where do I begin with All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder #5 (written by Frank Miller, pencilled by Jim Lee, inked by Scott Williams)? First, I don't think anyone should look to this title for the Platonic ideals of Batman, Robin, or any of the other iconic characters it features. This is not a story about How Batman Should Work. I don't know what this story is about, and it's been five issues. Actually, I take most of that back: this is a story about making Batman first among alpha males, by giving every other possible contender some fatal character flaw. Of the various costumed characters portrayed so far, Batman is the only one who seems to get the colossal joke underlying the very pursuit of superheroics. This makes a lot of sense in light of the basic "Batman" idea, and it could be a pretty entertaining series of issues, but remind me again ... what's the basic plot of this series? Where are the conflicts? Batman is wanted by the cops generally, never mind for kidnapping Dick Grayson, and by the way Dick's parents have been murdered. Five issues in and we're still just introducing all the players. This is starting to feel like the sub-glacial pace of Supreme Power all over again. It's bad enough the issues are so late, but then to have virtually no plot advancement feels like Miller and Lee are just in it to put one over on the suckers.

Fortunately, Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert, and Jesse Delperdang offer Batman #665, which gets a lot of ASB&R's ideas across in a mode that's much easier to digest. "The Black Casebook" ascribes a certain supernatural dread to those old Batman stories no one likes to talk about because they're "not realistic." In this issue, Batman and Robin take out the Bane-themed Batman, in part because Bruce convinces himself that he needs to be, yes, the top alpha male. However, Morrison's Batman is more sedate, and perhaps more self-aware, than Miller and Lee's cackling dervish. He's playing a role, not thinking with his id. The issue also has some fine action scenes, including Batman and Robin both slamming into the Bat-Bane with their respective vehicles.

Star Wars: Rebellion #6 (written by Brandon Badeaux & Rob Williams, drawn by Michel Lacombe) begins a new arc focusing on a character who should be familiar to me, but isn't. He's a Rebel agent who gets found out by the mob boss he's infiltrated, and sent on a mission by said mobster. I liked this issue well enough, even if some parts of it (the opening flashback to Episode III, and an assassination) weren't connected to the main plot. It all felt like part of the comfortable SW setting, and with a book like this, that's what you want.

Finally for this week, Hero Squared #6 (written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, drawn by Joe Abraham) offers the origins of Captain Valor and Caliginous, each told by them in what has to be somewhat self-serving fashion. Captain Valor's is more funny, being a pretty obvious parody of Captain Marvel's (including a Mr. Natural-like Shazam figure), but the emotional heft comes at the end of the issue, when one of the book's main players reacts to Caliginous' story. This is another book that doesn't do much in the way of macro-plot, but at least it offers a fairly complete story in every issue. If, as I have read, it's ending soon, it should probably get to its larger point, but issue by issue, it's still fun.

MAY 23, 2007

Countdown #49 (written by Paul Dini and Tony Bedard, pencilled by Carlos Magno, inked by Jay Leister) uses Jimmy's elastic past to get him out of the cliffhanger with Killer Croc, and the Pied Piper and Trickster get a good double-agent-y scene to establish their bona fides with the other Rogues. The rest of the issue is taken up with exposition-happy Monitors, Karate Kid and Red Arrow trading quips (leading me to wonder about the timing of this issue relative to the JLA/JSA crossover) and a dismemberment-happy Black Adam. The art this issue was pretty good for a team I've not seen before -- very dynamic, although there has to be a better way than facial hair to distinguish the Monitors.

I'm genuinely torn as to whether to continue with Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes (#30 written by Mark Waid, pencilled by Barry Kitson, inked by Mick Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti), because this was a very solid issue, but I think it's Waid and Kitson's last. They go out raising more questions than they answer, with those questions being very intriguing. Will Cosmic Boy join this mysterious new team? What will happen to Mon-El? Most importantly, will the new creative team be any good? I keep saying I want to re-read this series, so maybe this will give me the impetus to do it.

I thought The Spirit #6 (by Darwyn Cooke) was too ambitious. It tries very hard to be a real Eisner-esque story about a new character, with the Spirit in the background, but it just felt so familiar, and not in a good way. It's probably redundant to say that tortured musicians suffer for the sake of their art, and will do anything to perfect it, but there didn't seem to be much new (beyond the sci-fi trappings) of this musician's story. This title will always be worth reading as long as Cooke is on it, because Cooke is such a great storyteller and designer, but this issue falls short.

Wonder Woman #9 (written by Jodi Picoult, drawn by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson) doesn't skimp on plot. Superman, Batman, and the Justice League appear briefly, Circe's plans are revealed further, and Diana and Circe square off. The art is gorgeous, as you might expect. Picoult is improving, but her dialogue is still too clever and she can't quite manage all the plot. It continues to mystify me why DC would try to build up this title's profile with a prose novelist, and then plop said novelist right in the middle of a big event.

For some reason Fantastic Four #546 (written by Dwayne McDuffie, pencilled by Paul Pelletier, inked by Rick Magyar) didn't make much of an impression on me the first time around. That's probably my fault, because upon further inspection it's a neat little issue which references everything from the '70s Jack Kirby Black Panther series to Waid and Wieringo's last big FF arc. Oh, and Beyond!, of course, written by McDuffie. I didn't expect to see Reed and Sue back in the book (and apparently on their way to a healthy relationship) so soon, but that was a pleasant surprise, as was the combination of Pelletier and Magyar. Magyar really gives the pencils a good heft and a lot of weight, for a nice Alan Davis look. If this is just a temporary team, the long-term folks had better be absolutely stellar.

Arnim Zola, another '70s Kirby creation, shows up in Captain America #26 (written by Ed Brubaker, pencilled by Steve Epting, inked by Mike Perkins). A series of brief episodes -- the typography of which reminds me of old Spirit stories, for some reason -- check in on Sharon, the Winter Soldier, the Falcon, and Zola and the other villains, all getting back to their lives after Cap's death. Apparently this issue comes after all of those Fallen Son specials Marvel's been pushing since Cap #25, but I haven't read 'em, so this isn't overkill (you'll pardon the expression) for me. Brief glimpses of the Avengers both connect this book to, and distance it from, the larger Marvel Universe. These are people who don't quite fit into the land of crossovers and tie-ins. In that respect they're misfits, not unlike the time-lost Captain America whose memory now links them. If you can't already tell, I like this book a lot.

Aaand speaking of crossovers I haven't read and am not reading, here's She-Hulk #18 (written by Dan Slott, pencilled by Rick Burchett, inked by Cliff Rathburn), featuring Jen's battle with Iron Man on the SHIELD Helicarrier. That's about it, really. This issue uses Jen as a bridge between Civil War and "World War Hulk," getting her from one side to the other. There are some cute moments, but most of those involve Shulkie's regular supporting cast. It's not bad, it's just not as good as the book has been.

Finally, here's a book that may be better than ever: Birds Of Prey #106 (written by Gail Simone, pencilled by Nicola Scott, inked by Doug Hazlewood). Not just the Barda/Knockout fight, this matches up all of the Secret Sixers against the Birds, with Ice slowly regaining consciousness throughout. (Just noticed: on the cover, Barda's mega-rod looks a lot like Luke's green lightsaber....) It's pretty fun, especially the Misfit/Harley Quinn pairing. Nicola Scott's choreography isn't as fluid as I'm used to, so some of the figures are posed a bit awkwardly. Then again, they are fighting, so maybe that's how they're supposed to look. This team has succeeded in making a book I look forward to every month, and it's another situation where the new writer will have big shoes to fill.

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New comics 4/4/07, 4/11/07, and 4/18/07

Man, what a week. The Best Wife Ever has been out of town, so you know what that means: blogging about the DC solicits and World War III!

Anyway, three weeks behind; no time to waste.

APRIL 4

I'm just going to do a quick rundown for these books. I talked about Justice League of America #7 over at Blog@, in connection with the rest of "The Tornado's Path." Madman Atomic Comics #1 was not what I expected -- weird, expositional, and kind of depressing. Welcome to Tranquility #5 was decent, as the first arc starts getting wrapped up. Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #28 was pretty good, and its current arc is ready to end as well. Atom #10 was okay -- I'm not a huge fan of Eddy Barrows' art, and the "Sometimes They Come Back" story doesn't feel right for the book. Detective Comics #831 was very good, especially with the flashback to the previous Ventriloquist. Superman #661 felt like it could have come out of the '70s or '80s, and that's not entirely bad. Superman/Batman #33 finished what turned out to be the Despero arc, and I'm glad it's over. Nightwing #131 was okay -- not as good as the rest of the arc has been. Finally, 52 #48 felt rushed, and never quite came together.

APRIL 11

We begin the backlog in earnest with Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four #1 (written by Jeff Parker, pencilled by Mike Wieringo, inked by Wade von Grawbadger) and All-Star Superman #7 (written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Frank Quitely), two books designed to meet all one's needs for their respective subjects. I know I'm supposed to say something insightful about every title, but with these it's not going to get much deeper than "more, please." I can't get enough of Mike Wieringo's FF, and he draws a fine Spidey too. Jeff Parker's story strikes a good balance between the typical street-level Spidey adventure and the correspondingly cosmic FF tale. It's nice and light-hearted, with the Impossible Man and a great set of Ben/Johnny pranks. The stakes are laid out a little more clearly in the Superman title, as a "Bizarro plague" comes to Earth. The problem's big enough that it doesn't require Superman to be artificially de-powered, or to hold back, but at the same time Morrison and Quitely's Superman radiates confidence. More, please.

I can see that Tales of the Unexpected #7's lead Spectre story (written by David Lapham, pencilled by Eric Battle, inked by Prentis Rollins) is trying to wrap everything up in its penultimate chapter, but I'm not really invested anymore. The same is definitely not true for the Dr. 13 story (written by Brian Azzarello, drawn by Cliff Chiang), which just seems to get crazier and more affecting as it goes along. The satire on DC's continuity struggles has never been more clear, with the "Architects" even wearing Ben Cooper-style superhero masks representing some of their signature assignments. (If I'm right, they're Grant Morrison/Batman, Greg Rucka/Wonder Woman, Geoff Johns/Superman, and Mark Waid/Flash). Speaking of stakes, the Dr. 13 story seems to be about nothing less than the survival of DC's own Island of Misfit Toys. We'll find out next issue.

More metacommentary is on display in She-Hulk #17 (written by Dan Slott, pencilled by Rick Burchett, inked by Cliff Rathburn). Slott's treatment of Shulkie's sexual history comes into play during an encounter with Iron Man and some Nick Fury LMDs reference several other books' subplots. The bulk of the story has Shulkie's squad taking out old Hulk villains both in the field and on the SHIELD Helicarrier, and that part's good. Meanwhile, Mallory and Two-Gun try to clean up the former's image following her breakup with Awesome Andy. I have always been a fan of Rick Burchett's work, and Cliff Rathburn's inks are a good complement. However, it all feels like treading water until "World War Hulk" and its attendant round of status quo change(s).

Lotsa plot in Green Lantern Corps #11 (written by Dave Gibbons, pencilled by Patrick Gleason, inked by Prentis Rollins), so I won't try to summarize. Suffice it to say that everything seems to be connected to weird goings-on on Mogo, which I'd guess are in turn caused by the imminent attack of the Sinestro Corps. A mention of the old Empire of Tears only heightens the apocalyptic mood. I enjoyed this issue, because it balances the various plot threads (I count six) pretty well. I'm also a lot fonder of Gleason and Rollins than I was this time last year.

JLA Classified #37 (written by Peter Milligan, drawn by Carlos D'Anda) begins "Kid Amazo," so when we see a slacker college student who's questioning his purpose and the meaning of existence, it's not hard to figure out why. However, this story wants to look at its title character not as someone who will naturally turn to the light (a la Red Tornado and Tomorrow Woman), but someone who can make a real choice to join his "family" against the JLA. In that respect it looks interesting. I know I've seen D'Anda's work before, but I can't remember where. Here it's pretty good -- kind of like the clean Doug Mahnke/Tom Nguyen style, but a little rougher. A decent book all around.

Still sticking with Wonder Woman (#8 written by Jodi Picoult, pencilled by Drew Johnson, and inked by Ray Snyder), even though this issue isn't much better than the last. The art's still good, though. I will say that the story ties into Amazons Attack a little earlier than I expected, and it makes me wonder about how that event played into the development of Picoult's arc.

That leaves us with 52 #49 (written by The Architects, breakdowns by Keith Giffen, pencils by Eddy Barrows, inks by Dan Green, Rodney Ramos, and Barrows) -- and honestly, with everything that happens in 52-land this week, I can't say much more about the leadup in this issue. The Dr. Magnus bits were the highlight, and Barrows draws facial features a bit soft for my taste.

APRIL 18

The elephant in the room this week was World War III, about which I've already written some 1600 words behind the above link. Short version: incoherent, redeemed somewhat by the efficient 52 #50. Moving on.

The Metal Men show up in Superman/Batman #34 (written by Mark Verheiden, pencilled by Pat Lee, inked by Craig Yeung), and the story is set up for them to fight Supes and Bats, but it's not much more than that. Lee and Yeung's art is dark and slightly exaggerated, such that when one of the bad guys looks grotesquely overmuscled, I'm not sure whether I should accept that there's an in-story reason or that it's just bad anatomy. At one point Bruce Wayne gets slapped by the widow of one of his employees, killed in an attack, and you don't see that too often, so the story gets points for that. However, it sure doesn't have as much fun with Magnus or the Metal Men as 52 does, and I hope that changes.

By now you've probably heard about the bestiality in The Spirit #5 (by Darwyn Cooke), and sure, that's good for some laughs, but it's only part of another solid issue. The plot takes off from the unauthorized licensing of the Spirit's likeness into some unexpected directions. When a comic makes you feel sympathetic for a guy who loves his pet more than he really should, that's saying something.

Manhunter #30 (written by Marc Andreyko, pencilled by Javier Pina Diego Olmos, and Cafu, inked by Robin Riggs and Art Thibert) was enjoyable, but perfunctory: the Wonder Woman arc ends, the Chase-and-her-sister arc ends, and there's more with Mark Shaw. I think having this book "uncancelled" took a little pressure off everyone involved and let them spread out more, so that it feels more transitional than anything else. It's good that the book isn't cancelled, and the resolutions are all handled well -- there's even an Amazons Attack tease, if I read it right -- but it doesn't seem as ... resolute, I guess, about everything.

Andreyko also writes Nightwing Annual #2 (pencilled by Joe Bennett, inked by Jack Jadson), the secret history of Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon's lurve. Andreyko does a good job with the material, working in Dick's time with the New Titans pretty well, and Bennett and Jadson likewise do right by the characters. (They take particular care with the Robin costume.) Dick does have one moment where he lives up to his name, which I'm sure you've read about already. I am not a Dick/Babs 'shipper, nor am I a Dick/Kory 'shipper. I think Dick and Babs are more like siblings than potential lovahs, and I never got the sense that Dick and Kory were in it for much more than the sex. Therefore, I wasn't emotionally invested in these events, but I can't tell you what either party's ideal mate looks like. Anyway, a pretty good issue overall.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #51 (written by Tad Williams, pencilled by Shawn McManus, inked by Walden Wong) centers around Topo leading the Atlantean survivors through underwater "hatches" which teleport them across the oceans to Sub Diego. Along the way, they encounter Species 8472 ... I mean, the race that built the hatches. The art seems to be a little more cartoony than it was last issue, to go with the more fanciful tone overall. I'm not complaining about that. The book seems to be finding a middle ground between the isolation of the early Busiek SoA issues and the pre-OYL stories, and it's still intriguing to me.

Big doins' are afoot in The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #11 (written by Marc Guggenheim, pencilled by Tony Daniel, inked by Art Thibert), mostly in preparation for next issue's fight with the Rogues' Gallery. This issue is about Inertia gathering the Rogues, and Grandma Iris telling Bart why she's pointing that gun at him. I don't really buy Inertia as a Rogue mastermind, especially since he's Bart's peer. However, the issue flows well, it's not implausible otherwise, and I'm interested to see where it goes.

The JLA/JSA/old-school LSH team-up begins in Justice League of America #8 (written by Brad Meltzer, pencilled by Shane Davis, inked by Matt Banning). I must have missed Geo-Force joining the League, and the issue dwells inordinately on Red Arrow almost getting killed by a tree. It was okay, although I spent the whole issue wondering what else it would reference from my childhood. The art was fine, although very similar to the regular Benes/Hope team. I said over at B@N that this crossover could be so big, it forces Meltzer to pick up the pace, and I still hope that's the case -- but this issue was just prologue.

And then there's The Brave and the Bold #3 (written by Mark Waid, pencilled by George Perez, inked by Bob Wiacek), another incredibly good issue teaming Batman and Blue Beetle against the Fatal Five. I intend to catch up on the new Beetle, so I don't know how closely Waid writes him to his regular voice. However, I did think Beetle's dialogue, funny as it was, fell into a standard Waid type. It was still very funny, but it felt familiar too. Anyway, more, please.

Lastly, bringing our survey of some thirty-odd issues to a close is Birds of Prey #105 (written by Gail Simone, pencilled by Nicola Scott, inked by Doug Hazlewood). The fight with the Secret Six continues as the mystery behind You-Know-Who's sudden reappearance is explored. It has to do with a Rasputin cult, apparently. Hawkgirl and Scandal fight and the new Secret Sixer is revealed, but most of it is standing around talking. It's good talking, don't get me wrong, and as I've said too many times in this post, wait 'til next issue. Good as Sean McKeever may be, he'll have a hard act to follow on this book.

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New comics 3/21/07

Well, I'm done with Justice Society of America (#4 written by Geoff Johns, pencilled by Dale Eaglesham, inked by Ruy Jose), although I'll have to get it through the Justice League crossover. The big throwdown involves Vandal Savage versus junior Wildcat Tom Bronson (shout-out? Probably not). Meanwhile, the rest of the Justice Society smacks down various Nazi villains in a much more perfunctory manner. I did like how Dale Eaglesham organized the issue, making lots of action fit and flow smoothly, but on the minus side, there wasn't a lot of life in the main JSA-team action scenes. I understand the emphasis on character over action, and the two significant action scenes -- the Wildcats vs. Savage, and another involving Liberty Belle and Damage -- are set up to make character points. However, the pacing of the entire arc has front-loaded the issues with foundational character moments, so that the big team moments are almost in the background. Finally, the JLA crossover and the old-school Legion subplot are teased, as are the introductions of two new members. This title therefore seems to have a lot of housekeeping to tend, and I am frankly not so much into its housekeeping.

Flash: Fastest Man Alive #10 (written by Marc Guggenheim, pencilled by Paco Diaz, inked by Art Thibert) presents Part 2 of "Full Throttle," which wouldn't be a problem except last issue was the "Prologue," so you'd think this one would be Part 1. Anyway. Bart comes dangerously close to Mary-Suehood with his cracking of a legendarily unsolved LAPD case. Sure, Bart's got an unfair advantage being a superhero, but he doesn't seem to do anything a smart normal-speed detective couldn't have. Then Bart takes out the supervillain who did it, and Zoom too, in short order. The cliffhanger is pretty effective, though. The art is decent, although some of the figures are posed a little funny, like they're double-jointed. It's still an improvement over the previous regime.

I still want to read the whole thing, because I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I ended up liking Omega Men #6 (written by Andersen Gabrych, drawn by Henry Flint). Tigorr and Vril Dox are the stars of the show, and Flint's art is dynamic and ... full-to-burstin', for lack of a better term. It's not messy, it's unconventional, but it works.

Part 2 of the Stuart Moore/Andy Clarke siege of Wayne Tower in Detective Comics #830 was pretty good. The eventual Batman reveal was handled well. I didn't buy the drama associated with Robin's needing to blowtorch the trigger off his C4-encrusted shoulder, though. One could do worse than Moore and Clarke on a Batman story.

Birds Of Prey #104 (written by Gail Simone, pencilled by Nicola Scott, inked by Doug Hazlewood) was all kinds of fun. It recalls a couple of '90s comics, including the first BoP miniseries when Helena is hit upon in fancy dress by a charming rogue, and also a deathtrap from DC One Million (where the villain was Vandal Savage, also a Secret Six nemesis), but that's OK. The introduction of a Special Guest Bird (ha ha) was worth it. Best issue of BoP I've read lately, and that's saying something.

Was pleasantly surprised by 52 #46 (written by JMRW, breakdowns by Keith Giffen, pencilled by Pat Olliffe, inked by Olliffe, Drew Geraci, and Rodney Ramos), because I thought Adam would make short work of the Oolong Island crew. Turns out I didn't give them -- or at least one of them -- enough credit. This was also the best "action" issue of 52 in a while, and yes, I know I armchair-quarterbacked the 52 theory of action last week. This was better, I think, because it was on a much smaller scale and also involved a lot of little character bits. The eBay scenes were great, marred only by the fake lorem ipsum language. Also, I know I don't comment on the origin-story backups, but I really enjoyed the Batman origin. Andy Kubert took a well-worn series of events and made them into a fresh set of evocative images.

I almost didn't buy Batman Confidential #4 (written by Andy Diggle, pencilled by Whilce Portacio, inked by Richard Friend) because I'm not getting that much out of the story, and now I'm really not sure why I continue. As it happens, this was a good issue, art included, except for two things: the first Batplane looks a little too advanced; and the ending seems to torpedo Luthor's post-revamp "bad guy behind the scenes" persona.

Bane goes out a little too easily in Checkmate #12 (written by Greg Rucka, Nunzio DeFilippis, and Christina Weir, pencilled by Steve Scott and Cliff Richards, inked by Nathan Massengill and Steve Bird), but other than that this was a fascinating issue, crystallizing a lot of political subplots and probably setting up John Ostrander's Suicide Squad revival. It kept me guessing, which was great. The art is the usual thick-lined, moody, kinda muddy style that this title uses to good effect. It's helped greatly by Santiago Arcas' colors, which brighten up as more information is revealed and get darker again when the issues get murkier. I really liked this comic.

I'm also cautiously optimistic about Aquaman: Sword Of Atlantis #50 (written by Tad Williams, pencilled by Shawn McManus, inked by Walden Wong). It's a new creative team dealing with some of the old subplots, but the first thing you notice (obviously) is the different artistic style. Instead of Butch Guice's more washed-out pencils (no pun intended), McManus and Wong combine for an almost cartoony effect which migh tnot be entirely realistic, but it makes characters easier to distinguish. Ironically, though, that doesn't apply at first to "Narwhal," the new villain introduced on the first page, because he looks a lot like Our Hero. I think he's also meant to remind us of Koryak, Orin's son from the Peter David days of the early '90s. Williams also gives us a new Topo, presented without reference to Aquaman's old octopus sidekick. Topo II is more cute comic-relief, I take it, but I was never a big Topo I scholar so I can't really evaluate that. Also, Tempest and Mera look to be a big part of the book now too. Basically, the current Aquaman gets introduced to the ruins of Atlantis, there's some talk about the fate of San Diego (a plot from the days when I didn't read the book) and Narwhal cuts a swath of destruction through the ruins. Pretty intriguing stuff, and it'll keep me around for a while.

Reading Army@Love #1 (written and pencilled by Rick Veitch, inked by Gary Erskine) was almost a novel experience, because it seems that I had pretty much forgotten the accoutrements of a Vertigo book. The last Vertigo book I read was American Virgin #4, about six months ago, maybe, so I was a little surprised at how new the line seemed. How was A@L itself? Not too bad, and pretty entertaining. I expected it to be over about seven pages before it was, and I was reading it while trying to watch "Friday Night Lights" so I might not have been paying as close attention as I should've, but it was still very good.

The Spirit #4 (by Darwyn Cooke) was another fine issue. I halfway expected it to be continued from last time, since #3 ended on something of a cliffhanger, but that's OK. #4 (re)introduces Silk Satin, surely an Eisner creation who's now a top-notch CIA agent. I love how everyone the Spirit encounters is so much better at their particular job than he is at his; or at least has that impression of themselves in relation to him. With Satin and the Spirit on the run from bad guys for most of the issue, the dynamics are somewhat similar to the news-anchor story from #1, but Cooke makes Satin different enough, and likeable enough, that it doesn't matter. Art is impeccable, as usual. I especially enjoyed the clever logo-centered two-page spread.

Finally, I can't believe it's here so soon after #1, but The Brave and the Bold #2 (written by Mark Waid, pencilled by George Perez, inked by Bob Wiacek) is almost an improvement on what was a very good first issue. This time Green Lantern pairs with Supergirl, resulting in a sort-of-uncomfortable internal monologue about not succumbing to his primal urges vis-a-vis her nubile teenaged wiles. However, that even gets turned on its head in hilarious fashion. Perez and Wiacek really give their all this time, cramming even more detail into the backgrounds of the gambling planet Ventura. I made a point to look for Marvel's Grandmaster, one of the antagonists in the Perez-drawn JLA/Avengers, but didn't see anything, and that may be my only complaint.

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