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Weekly review

  
  

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smurph
17:45 / 11.01.08
B.P.R.D. 1946 #1

Only relatively recently started reading B.P.R.D. So far I like this issue better than the past two story arcs. Loved the panel of young Hellboy chasing a coop full of chickens.

The Twelve #1

After the Nedor heroes showed up in Tom Strong and all the previews of Alex Ross working on them for Dynamite I thought I would check out Marvel's resurrection of some old timers. Kind of weird to pick up two comics set in post WWII Germany the same week. I felt a little sad when the story jumped from 1945 to 2008. I kind of liked the old school comics zaniness of the reprints they included in issue #0 (especially Rockman) and part of me is wondering if any of that is going to come through when the characters are all dragged into the modern day.

Suicide Squad #5

Strange to see so much plot being introduced in issue 5 of an 8 issue miniseries, but this issue continues to pick up the pace after 1 through 3 were kind of slow going. A bit not happy that an old character I had fond memories from reading comics as a kid is brought back with the experience of rape added to her history.
 
 
Sailor Warrior of Love&Justice
(prev. Damn, it's Pacific State again)
17:52 / 13.01.08
This week Hulk shot someone with a Gun.



This week Jeph Loeb blossomed into that beautiful flower.

That Potential realised.

Jeph Loeb - king of comics?
 
 
Iron Man
20:26 / 14.01.08
Man that is one shitty cover.

Is it the 90's again?
 
 
Sailor Warrior of Love&Justice
(prev. Damn, it's Pacific State again)
20:41 / 14.01.08
It was shitty interior art first. I don't think McGuiness really bought his A Game here.

Loeb sure did though! GOLDEN GUN!
 
 
Shiny: The Countdown to Thirty
20:44 / 14.01.08
See it wasn't the Hulk shooting someone with a gun that made the comic shit for me. That I could live with, it was the fact that as far as I could tell nothing else happened, except a bunch of stuff that managed to be both nonsensical and tedious at the same time. Oh and the much hyped red Hulk didn't actually appear in the book at all.

And I'm a Hulk addict, so I sat through the last year of Paul Jenkins run, and the whole of the Bruce Jones run; so I'm more familiar than I should admit with books that are tedious and nonsensical at the same time. But even so, this was especially so.
 
 
Sailor Warrior of Love&Justice
(prev. Damn, it's Pacific State again)
21:17 / 14.01.08
Samson punched a guy!
 
 
Iron Man
21:46 / 14.01.08
So is this the only Hulk title now? Did the other title finish to make room for Loeb's shit sandwich? Is the Hulk red now?
 
 
Shiny: The Countdown to Thirty
21:54 / 14.01.08
So is this the only Hulk title now? Did the other title finish to make room for Loeb's shit sandwich?

Incredible is now Incredible Herc, featuring Hercules and a number of Hulk supporting characters. I'd guess it will be Incredible Hulk again once the movie of the same name comes out. There's also almost as many spin-offs as Countdown as well, featuring Hulk characters. The ones written by Greg Pak are alright; not brilliant, but enjoyable for Hulk geeks. Kate freakin Waynesboro has even reappeared! Next stop Puffball Collective I imagine!

Is the Hulk red now?

So the hype and pics prior to Hulk 1 said, but the red Hulk as I said does not appear there. The gun shooty Hulk might in fact be red I suppose, but we only really saw the cast visualizing what happened, and they imagined him to be green, so that's what we saw.
 
 
Shiny: The Countdown to Thirty
22:08 / 14.01.08
Samson punched a guy!

Oh and Doc Samson fans, if you exist. Don't read this. Read Thunderbolts instead, he's guest starring for an arc there, actually being a counsellor, for Darque Speedball. Ellis is using very much the Peter David interpretation of the character, and he's as enjoyable as he's ever been there.
 
 
Iron Man
22:17 / 14.01.08
The Incredible Herc?? That sounds like a 'MAD' parody. Jinkies!
 
 
Papers, anyone, anywhere?
(prev. Papers @ 21C !)
03:52 / 25.01.08
I really wasn't expecting to like it, but I picked up Brubaker & Medina's Young Avengers Presents #1 (starring Patriot), mostly because the YAs manage to do all those things that the Titans should do. I'm a little sad that Heinberg isn't writing these, but the first issue was pretty good -- short and sharp, with some good characterization moments between Eli, Kate, and Billy -- as well as showing me Bucky Barnes in his current status quo, which I'm not as familiar with. The plot's pretty simple, Eli is confused about his role -- it's a mini-Captain America story all right, a small version of all those old Gruenwald stories about Cap doubting himself and his country...

The art was sweet, as well. Medina and Vlasco have crisp, slick lines that make me feel reasonably comfortable with them drawing the kids if Jim Cheung isn't around for this mini because he's, oh, becoming Marvel's Adam Hughes or whatever.

Is this meant to be the bridge before the second "season" or whatever starts?

Problems -- seriously! I read Marvel comics to get away from legacy hero brouhaha that abounds over at DC, and typically the Young Avengers sort of subvert (Iron Lad!) or corrupt the notion (Patriot being some other Captain America's relative, for example). But here it is. As well, I had to wonder what the point of the story was, beyond Eli grasping his role, as a "Captain America Family" member. Otherwise, it seemed mostly there to tell me that the kids aren't with the Initiative beyond Cassie/Stature, and shouldn't be heroing. Or are they? It confused me.

It's okay if these are just small stories without a big overarching plot, but I'm hoping that the second issue, focused on Hulking, manages to have some more, well, story.
 
 
Sailor Warrior of Love&Justice
(prev. Damn, it's Pacific State again)
04:16 / 25.01.08
I kind of liked the legacy stuff in this issue. I started reading comics with Truth, more or less. I was under the impression that Cap has always flirted with the legacy stuff, hell, a large part of Brubaker's Incredible Cap run has been the history of the previous Caps and Buckies.

I think Cap is Marvel's only real legacy character and they've recently done a very good job of dealing with the brand. Every story about the mantle, or subsidiaries, has had a real enough basis in politics, racial or otherwise, to justify the story.
 
 
Papers, anyone, anywhere?
(prev. Papers @ 21C !)
03:43 / 09.02.08
Did anyone else feel a rush of 90s nostalgia and pick up Alan Davis's Clan Destine revival? I can't remember what happened to my copy of the original collection, but it went somewhere and I think they're reprinting it next week.

So far, this third miniseries for the Clan is awright. It starts off with callbacks to the original series right away -- Rory dreaming about Spider-Man -- but it was fun and I loved that there was a surprising lack of expository dialogue and it seemed -- restrained -- in comparison to Davis's usual style.
 
 
Alex's Grandma
08:25 / 09.02.08
I appreciate that this stuff is to do with the kind of bitter, dark (and darque) cruel, trashy material that doesn't get much play on Barblelith. Because of the PC Police, and such. And also for reasons of good taste.

That said, I'm enjoying 'The Darkness' a fair amount; the concept is so awful (basically, that a mafia hitman, this handsome clot, who sails through the havoc he by and large creates in the manner of the Shade from Starman, is going to have to pay for it somehow. Except he never really has to) that it's hard too feel negative about the project. Going forward.

As issue two opens, Jackie, our hero, has lost control of the demons, again, and has moved to a small Central American country, and addicted half the population to drugs that he's sythensised from his own fluids. So no back-chat off the locals, then. And yet, Jackie still seems like a sympathetic character.

Because he just wanders through all this, unwilling, or unable, to deal with any of it.

Would it be totally ridiculous of me to suggest that 'Y - The Last Man' should have been more like 'The Darkness'? Certainly, it would have been different, I guess.

I never recommend anything, apart from 'The Enigma,' but I'd like to think I've got enough heft left, still, to usefully encourage board members to pick up issues 1 and 2 of what seems to me to be a deeply upsetting series. Within reason, if you hate it, I'll buy you a pint.
 
 
Alex's Grandma
08:43 / 09.02.08
Also, David Hine's run on 'Spawn' - I'd marry him.

It'd be a chaste arrangement, I suppose, unless he wore the costume ... but I'd maintain that 'Spawn' is currently as good, as reliably good, as 'The Punisher', 'Daredevil' or 'Captain America'.
 
 
Papers, anyone, anywhere?
(prev. Papers @ 21C !)
02:21 / 10.02.08
I'd seen someone new was doing Spawn, but having a long distaste for McFarlane, avoided it.

Damn, though, now I want to read Enigma again, but I can practically recite it at this point...

I also picked up two Incal books for the Moebius, but I'll post in the appropriate thread when I'm finished reading them. I'm enjoying the art but I can definitely see some of the criticisms brought up against Jodo, particularly the depiction of his female characters.

Though the Golden Planet was cool, I have to say, as well as adventures being broadcasted as television and people not getting that they're actually "happening" (in story context).
 
 
Papers, anyone, anywhere?
(prev. Papers @ 21C !)
17:39 / 26.02.08
Right before the lock-out kicked in at work, while everybody was grabbing stuff off the shelves, I managed to get my hands on a copy of the first volume of Takeshi Obata's Death Note.

Relevant thread about the anime version. I didn't feel comfortable, having only read the manga, posting about it over there.

I liked it, primarily because it's this weird little study of the schoolboy Light's descent into madness following his accidental discovery of a death god's notebook. Ryuk, the death god in question, clearly knows he's going to drive someone insane by exposing them to the book, and to himself -- and he's enjoying it.

It's very goth, of course, but I like how Light slowly stops viewing people as people over the course of the story -- sure, at first it's just criminals that he uses the book on, but eventually it's just people who get in his way. There's an interesting dynamic set-up between him and "L," the mystery detective whose name and appearance are hidden (thus preventing Light from killing him with the notebook). Both of them seeking to discovery the other's identity.

It's very "not cute," which is curious -- whenever there's a moment that should be cute, it's overshadowed by all the horror going on.

So we'll see, I might scrape together some quarters to get the second one, maybe. There's multiple references to Ryuk having lost a second Death Note, which makes me wonder when that one's going to come into play...
 
 
FinderWolf
17:15 / 28.02.08
It makes me very happy inside to see that NEXUS #100 came out this week. Great article inside on the history of the book, the creators Baron & Rude, etc. Rude's art never fails to impress. The story is lots of fun too - check it out! LONG LIVE NEXUS!!!
 
 
H3ct0r L1m4
10:59 / 29.02.08
all Vertigo books are rip-offs from old 10c comics! including SEA GUY, hear that, Cameron? humph...
 
 
Papers, anyone, anywhere?
(prev. Papers @ 21C !)
06:04 / 15.03.08
On impulse, I picked up the trade for Michael Fleisher and Jim Aparo's Wrath of the Spectre. It's beautifully, horrifically, weirdly wonderful. I wouldn't mind reading some of the original Golden Age stuff, but it's fun, sick, and very Seventies. Weird because of things like a very shoehorned romantic subplot ("But, don't you understand? I can't love you, I'm dead!"). Occasionally it has that stilted comic book edge to it but it's beautiful.

I definitely like the first sequence of Adventure Comics stories; the art for the actual Wrath mini is a bit weaker, mostly due to the inking.
 
 
FinderWolf
04:12 / 24.03.08
I can't say enough good things about COMIC BOOK COMICS #1, the new series out from the creators of ACTION PHILOSOPHERS!! Just a wonderful retelling of the origins of comic books as we know them, starting with The Yellow Kid. I'm a lifelong comics fan and thought I knew a ton of the history of comics -- and I did, but writer Fred Van Lente spins a tale that includes details and information that I never knew or heard of. He weaves it all together wonderfully, and artist Ryan Ottley does a great job with the cartooning. Think Scott McCloud's UNDERSTANDING COMICS if it was a history book first and foremost, shedding new light on the origins of the comic strip/comic book form and drawing connections we've not seen before.

Highly recommended.
 
 
Papers, anyone, anywhere?
(prev. Papers @ 21C !)
02:31 / 17.04.08
The dumb super-hero comics I picked up this week...

Number of the Beast #1.

Wildstorm's death-knell starts? Or something. I didn't read either of the previous two series, Armageddon and Revelations, so I don't know what's going on in the bigger picture, but this was a pretty fun little read with some BEAUTIFUL artwork by Chris Sprouse. The apparent return of a couple old Stormwatch one-shot foes, one of them in a really gross new state of being. Sprouse presenting beautiful faux Silver-Age superheroes we've never heard of. They're sort of yet another JLA analogue but they felt more like the Avengers. The weirdest and most hilarious evil genius plan ever (very last panel of the comic). It was cute and creepy and fun, so I'll keep reading it in spite of the fact that I probably won't get what's going on. The dialogue could use a bit of work, but I get the feeling that's partly intentional...

JSA Classified #35 & 36.

Ramon Perez of Butternut Squash pencils a gorgeous Wildcat adventure. It's pretty straightforward, B. Clay Moore's script is a fairly simple "old guy goes back to his old stomping grounds to solve a mystery and ends up doubting himself" routine, but the flashback sequences are lovely to look at and it's a competent story that uses Ted Grant's relationship with Catwoman without depending on it, and ruminates on the Golden Age a little bit without feeling mired in it (and even seems to open a couple doors to new things in terms of tone and acknowledgement that nostaglia is self-defeating). I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Gotham Central book 2.

Renee's outing fiasco. Love the Michael Lark artwork, though occasionally he makes it difficult to distinguish his characters a little. A lot smudgier than his Terminal City days. I generally find Rucka an enjoyable writer and this was no exception, though it made me sort of sad to see no real ongoing Renee story in the DCU now...

Supergirl & the Legion TPB, Quest for Cosmic Boy.

I don't know how I feel about the threeboot when it comes right down to it, but I liked this arc. Denis Calero's artwork is an...acquired taste, but he has a couple beautiful panels in the quagmire. It hit home for me that for all its faults, this Legion was shaping up to be something distinct from its old incarnations before Shooter came in and killed some of the momentum.
 
 
Papers, anyone, anywhere?
(prev. Papers @ 21C !)
00:26 / 25.04.08
The second issue of Number of the Beast hit with more artwork by Sprouse. I think, if I wear writing this rather than Scott Beatty, that I would have asked to make the individual floppies longer than the usual page count and then combined this issue with the first one; we get more demonstration of the Paladins and their city, and a better idea of what's going on in relation to the paramilitary organization (presumably) that's holding the High's remains.

As it is, it becomes clear that they took a bunch of super-people from the 1940s and stuck them in a Matrix-style virtual environment, possibly maybe? Or they're bred to believe they're from the 1940s. I actually wondered if they might be from the High's original Earth, as I gather he was a Bleed traveller...

Which signposts why I'd have combined the first and second issues, really. A lot of questions need to be addressed but it feels a little leftfield at this point.

The Paladins feel more Silver Age than Golden, and I like that they aren't obnoxious paragons but pretty "normal" people with powers. The apocalyptic stuff that comes up right away seems odd -- for the time period they are apparently from (and believe themselves to be), given their positioning in Midwestern America in the late Forties and the presumed economic standing of most of them, I'm surprised that they're all atheists. Their opponent, meanwhile, a mad scientist-type, can quote the Bible from memory...odd.

I like that they're using Eidolon and the backstory of the Changers arc from Stormwatch. I'm just curious to see when the bottle city's prisoners, as they might be, get the chance to interact with the actual WSU and this starts to feel like an event. So far it could be a compelling story on its own, as a series without the idea of a "crossover" behind it.
 
  

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