HAUNT #18

The Walking Dead TV show on AMC was one of the top rated cable TV programs last week as it always is. It was #4, behind two NFL games and a Nascar race. That means it was the highest rated "show." That's a big deal. And the problem is that Robert Kirkman may eventually quit writing comics altogether and focus on scripts, producing, and maybe even directing. We lost artist Stephen Platt to Hollywood so it does happen. & even if Kirkman continues to write comics, they might not be as good with his limited time and he probably won't continue writing new series. This issue of Haunt is his last. It will go on with a new artist, too, as Greg Capullo left to draw Batman. Most folks won't care. The critics loathed this book when it first came out and by this issue nobody really seemed to care or notice it anymore. Perhaps I was one of the few that actually liked it...albeit this final issue is mostly a mess. The premise is a hybrid of Spider-Man and Spawn. A CIA type fighter dude dies but his ghost shows up to talk and inhabit his brother. The catch is that when the ghost and brother merge they can turn into a super hero that can leap and fight and looks kind of like Spawn and Spider-Man. Kirkman introduced some interesting characters including two super-evil baddies and there were a lot of twists and turns that Kirkman is famous for. Capullo's awesome, detailed, fluid art certainly helped. He is one of the best artists out there, probably because he draws like McFarlane, who helped pencil this issue. It certainly wasn't the greatest series but it was entertaining and pretty to look at and a bit wild. & enjoy Kirkman's comics now before he's gone and us fanboys lament, "Fuck...remember Kirkman before he moved to Hollywood?" ** (out of ****)

STITCHED #1

I just finished reading Stephen King's 2008 novel, Duma Key. I started it in early 2008, got bored with it and put it down, then recently picked it back up and finished it. The premise is good but the execution is awful. It's a long book but could easily have been cut by three hundred pages. Reading it made me sad. When I was in middle school I loved King. I thought he was the greatest. I'm not sure if he got worse or I started to have better taste, but reading anything by Garth Ennis these days gives me that same sad feeling. Remember how awesome Preacher was? Picking up a new book by Ennis is exciting because you think that magic might return...until you start reading. Punisher Max, The Boys, Jennifer Blood, and now Stitched are all mediocre. They feature blood, profanity, shocking images, and insane comedy...but they just don't have that wild, engrossing, entertainment punch that Preacher had. It's sad to think that Ennis will never write another book as great as his first big series.
As for Stitched, it features walking dead people in Afghanistan and is based on Ennis' own 17 minute short film. It's bloody, semi-creepy, but mostly just stale. Like King's early stuff, I miss the thrill. *1/2 (out of ****)

SPACEMAN #1

Sure, there's been a lot of big events in the comic book world this year and a slew of new books and a hell of a lot going on. BUT...I've been anticipating this book, Spaceman, more than the rest. Why? Well, duh, it's Eduardo Risso and Brian Azzarello back together on a Vertigo title. This time it's sci-fi. If you don't remember, these two did 100 issues of 100 Bullets. Over the summer they put out a semi-cool 3-part Batman tale. They work well together. They're like the Albert and Costello or the Frazier and Ali of the comic book world. And while the first issue of nine of Spaceman isn't extraordinary, it's definitely engrossing, interesting, different, and pretty to look at. The story has a half-man half-ape dude that explored space for the government but is now retired, addicted to drugs, into cyber porn, and engulfed in a case of a missing girl amidst a bleak Dystopian future world. The dialogue by Azzarello is a lot like the future-slang of A Clockwork Orange. It's oft-putting at first, but really brings this future world to life. & the art by Risso is so unique, so flawless and fluid and dream-like. Reading this is like going to another world. Which is kind of the point. ***

THE INCREDIBLE HULK #1 + WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #1

Wow, jeez, a #1 issue of the Hulk! What'll this be worth in thirty years? Sadly, probably less than the $3.99 cover price. Unless buyers in the future are dumb enough to think that this is the "real" first ever issue of the Hulk. But I bought it, so I guess there's your reason to re-brand a long running book as a #1 issue. Will the year 2011 forever be known as that dumb year in comics with a thousand #1 issues? Or will people think comics started in 2011? It's an easy argument: if comics didn't start in 2011 then why did Superman #1, Batman #1, Detective Comics #1, Daredevil #1, The Punisher #1, Action Comics #1, The Uncanny X-Men #1, Thor #1, Captain America #1, and The Incredible Hulk #1 all come out that year? Either way, this new Hulk book has a stellar team. Jason Aaron is writing it and Marc Silvestri is co-penciling it. Yes, it's sad that Silvestri left Image and is only co-drawing this book. The art is good but he draws a bad Hulk. He draws a better Bruce Banner, who is, more or less, Dr. Moreau on his island of talking animals. That's the plot: The Island of Dr. Moreau. And while it's cool it's also a complete rip-off. Jason Aaron is also writing Wolverine and the X-Men #1. The art, sadly, is too dark and blocky. The usual awesome Chris Bachalo art is somehow missing here. The plot is more or less Wolverine giving a tour to state inspectors of his new mutant school in New York. A bad guy kid shows up and the earth rumbles and spits out monsters. Yep, totally boring. THE INCREDIBLE HULK #1 ** (out of ****) WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #1 *