Short Reviews 12-11-13

THE SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #6: First off, I love that all the new Marvel books have their issues numbered like this: 006 instead of #6. Like this fucking book is going to be in the triple-digits someday. With that said, I wouldn't mind. This is a lot of fun. It's a comedy/caper book about bumbling thieves. Not all the jokes work of course, but enough do. Writer Nick Spencer is at least coherent here (unlike Morning Glories) and quite funny. The plot doesn't really matter, but this issue involves a stolen painting of Dr. Doom's real face. Light, easy on the eyes (Steve Lieber pencilled it), and a quality read. **1/2 (out of ****)

DEAD BODY ROAD #1: Writer Justin Jordan's follow-up to his Luther Strode epic is a book that should, seriously, just be re-titled Cliches. A guy's wife is murdered so he sets out, shotgun in hand, to avenge. I suppose #2 and #3 could reveal all sorts of cool, ingenious plot devices that I didn't expect...but this first issue is really debilitating. -No Stars-

UNCANNY #5: One of the year's best books. And the thing is, it's full of cliches and it's super simple but it works. We've got the down on his luck con man with a supernatural power, a shady organization, a military base in South America, car chases. Andy Diggle, who lasted all of one issue this year on Action Comics, is a terrific writer when doing this type of crime/action drama. The art is mediocre but so far it's a hell of a ride. ***1/2

BATMAN #26: This is, without question, the best mainstream book out and the best Batman book since Grant Morrison's run on the flagship title. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have been knocking it out of the park. Every month this is one of the few comics I really look forward to and can't wait to dive into. And it's been a fucking origin story most of the year! Granted, an awesome one that's showed us the birth of The Joker, The Riddler, and Batman. And the glorious colors by FCO Plascencia. This issue focuses on Dr. Death. It's another great issue, even with the lousy cover. ***1/2

CHEW #38: Yeah, this probably should've been a 12 issue series. It's still good but that buzz is gone. Even the over-the-top jokes that were kinda cool early on just feel stale and bad now. The plot? One of the men that know what started the avian flu outbreak is being housed in an underground bunker in a prison. Mason Savoy, the big bad, finds him and bites him and then escapes from said prison and...yeah, this book is fucking bonkers. The art is still crisp, cartoony, amusing. It just feels like it's treading water a bit. **1/2

INVINCIBLE #107: A Robert Kirkman double feature this week. The cover on this book is outstanding. Invincible is really one of the best looking books out there. It looks so vibrant. The plot now has Invincible trying to take care of his pregnant girlfriend while deciding to go off and kill one of his nemesis', Angstrom Levy. But there's more! One of his father's alien race people kisses him...and there's a battle with some underground monsters. Plus the letters page is hilarious. Not all of it is stellar but it's mostly win-win. ***

THE WALKING DEAD #118: This book is amidst its best storyline since The Governor arc. I suppose it isn't too much of a surprise since Negan is a crazy leader hell-bent on domination that goes to war with Rick...which was what The Governor was. But I'd rather read an exciting similar story than a dull fresh one. This particular issue is weak, though. The big news? The black dude's tiger dies in battle (yes, there's a tiger in the book). This storyline, "All Out War," is being double-shipped so Charlie Adlard isn't inking his own stuff. Honestly? It looks worse, albeit similar (I probably couldn't tell if I didn't know). And the voice-over doesn't work in this issue (Kirkman playing new tricks). But it's not terrible and the letters are great as usual. **

THE SANDMAN OVERTURE #1

Certainly this is the biggest release in comicdom in quite awhile, no? I was pondering what the last release was that could be thought of as just as big as this and thought of the Watchmen prequels...but those didn't have the original artist or writer...so what else is as big? I suppose DC's "new 52" reboot...but that wasn't just one book. But why even argue or contemplate it; the fact is, Neil Gaiman is back writing Sandman, his most famous creation, which ran 75 issues from 1989 to 1996 (and ran a bit longer through spin-offs not written by Gaiman). Neil Gaiman isn't really mainstream famous, but he's famous to readers and indie-rock listeners and film buffs. I admit that I've only read the first Sandman trade, which collected issues 1 to 8. It was very good, albeit apparently not good enough for me to continue. The story is, basically, about the king of dreams. In this six-issue mini-series, we find out how Sandman got captured in the very first issue. So, yes, it's a prequel. It's also...terrible. The art, by Batwoman artist JH Williams 3rd, is dreamy, interesting, and different. It's good but not as amazing as some of his Batwoman art. The book is hard to put a handle on. What IS going on? It's certainly not compelling but it is confusing. Oh, well...perhaps Gaiman should've learned from the awful Star Wars prequels. Sometimes you just shouldn't go back. *1/2

VELVET #1

A female James Bond...has it been done before? Probably. I just can't think of a book or film that comes to mind. I never saw JJ Abram's Alias TV show...that might have been similar. But here's a new female spy comic book from writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting. Brubaker, as you know, did a stellar run writing Captain America recently. While the broughaha was that he killed Steve Rogers, what he also did was make it a great book people talked about for the first time in decades. He quit Marvel to focus on his creator-owned book which was probably a good thing since his Winter Soldier book was barely compelling and his heart didn't seem into it. Fatale, his Satanic/monsters/crime mash-up book for Image, has been gang-busters, though, so he definitely is still a terrific writer when he cares. , though, so far is paint-by-numbers stuff. The art by Epting is top-notch and it's intriguing but not all-together great. Velvet is a spy in the 70's who ends up being falsely accused of being a villain and she must go on the run and apparently find out who's double-crossing her. It's a decent first issue but not something that screams originality or something that'd make you dying to get your hands on #2. **

EVENT BOOK WEEK!

This week was strange. I suppose with Labor Day and school starting the big two figured they should start their event books to bring forth a new surge of interest for the last, final quarter. Four event books hit this week. I bought them all (sucker). Three were fun. One was a slog. But they got me excited to actually go to a comic book store this week (I usually read digitally).

FOREVER EVIL #1: David Finch and Geoff Johns. The first big event of the "new 52" (which is three years old this month). This certainly had all of us curious. The other thing they've done is have 52 books this month focusing on a villain in each one instead of having the regular books out. So Superman #23.1 features Bizarro Superman, etc. They all have pretty cool 3-D covers (you don't need glasses...they're called "motion covers" or something). So this is the start of a big month for DC. This book, Forever Evil #1, has a group of villains from another dimension show up and proclaim that they've killed off the Justice League and that evil will reign. The catch? This group is made of an evil Superman that snorts kryptonian, an evil Green Lantern, an evil Flash, and two other foes. So yes...this is the opposite of Marvel's super serious Infinity. This is a lark, a fun, silly romp of sorts. It's certainly entertaining, though more along the lines of that Daredevil: Shadowland mini-series a few years ago. That was stupid, silly, but fun...and everyone hated it. I enjoyed this first issue (even though David Finch's art is half as good as it used to be)...and the mystery of what happened to the Justice League will keep most reading (c'mon...they're obviously held captive on some other earth somewhere). At 7 parts, though, will I still care in five months or whenever the hell it ends? **1/2

INFINITY #2: I've enjoyed Manhattan Projects, writer Jonathan Hickman's bizarre opus, but his Marvel stuff has mostly left me bored and/or confused. I did like a few issues of his Fantastic Four run, but his current Avengers run and now his event mini-series, Infinity, is a garbled heap of space opera junk. I do understand the jist of the tale (anyone who likes this book will tell its detractors that they're not smart enough or don't understand or don't know the whole history to "get it"); Thanos is the villain. But, seriously, who the fuck are the Inhumans, the Builders, the Shi'Ar, the Cull Obsidian, and the Illuminati? I know: they're boring. I've read "smart" and serious books in the past and enjoyed them. Sandman, Watchmen. Those books are great. Infinity is a dull slog. Marvel's dog of the year. 1/2*

X-MEN: BATTLE OF THE ATOM #1 & ALL NEW X-MEN #16: Is it still "all new" if it's at #16 already? Heh.Well these two are parts 1 and 2 of the new X-Men event, "Battle of the Atom." They tricked us by putting out two parts on the same day...so even if you hated part 1 the probability is that you probably bought both parts anyway. Sucker. Brian Bendis wrote both of these. Frank Cho drew the first, Stuart Immonen the second. Immonen has looked sloppy lately whereas Cho is all clean, fat lines that make his books look like a cartoon. The story has a future X-Men team showing up to warn the current X-Men that bringing back the 60's X-Men to present day is bad. So...yeah...the plot features 3 X-Men teams of 3 eras talking. There's some action with Sentinels...but I'm curious to see what the "atom" is or how this storyline will go 10 parts and warrant the "event" moniker. It's so far light and semi-fun. **1/2

BATMAN INCORPORATED #13

The last of the hanging-on, old "52" books is here, and now it's all over. Grant Morrison bows out of Batman, finally, but, c'mon...even Gaiman is doing Sandman again so Morrison and Batman probably aren't over. Morrison famously brought back Damian from the late 80's and then killed him off after making him the new, rough around the edges Robin. Morrison also killed Batman, sort of, and made a lot of us scratch our heads more than once. Morrison's run has been hit or miss...but I will say there have been more hits than misses. What he did bring was a fresh take on Batman. This isn't just bad guy vs. Batman...it's weird, strange, curious along with bad guy vs. Batman. The big bad has been Talia Al Ghoul. She gets shot in the head and apparently killed in this issue...but her body is dug up and there are more Damian's out there growing in glass jars. It's not over! Morrison's Batman run, a little less than ten years, has been one for the ages. This particular issue had some nice, gritty art by Chris Burnham. A solid ending. I miss it already. ***1/2

SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #2

Jim Lee is, obviously, one of the big dogs in comics. The one smart thing that Dan Didio and the crew at DC did when they started was to get him the hell out of the corporate office and back at the drawing table. Jim Lee penciled the first eight or so issues of Justice League, which looked pretty but were mediocre. Now they've put Lee on a new monthly Superman title with one of DC's biggest writers, Scott Snyder. Instant gold, right? Hardly. First off: they should have called this book Man of Steel. Superman Unchained is a lousy title (I'm guessing they watched Django Unchained right before this brilliant title idea). Second: the book is pretty bad. Perhaps if I hadn't read Snyder and Capullo's Batman #22 right after this I wouldn't have thought this. That book, amidst a year long origin tale, is fantastic. looks good but not great. Lee gets a little lazy in spots. The plot is very dull, too. General Lane has created a more powerful, Superman-like creature for no apparent reason. & Luthor is in some high-tech suit ready to do something...evil. Snyder perhaps hasn't found his "voice" yet with Superman. That, or he's just better off with the dark elements of comics like Batman, serial killers, and vampires. This new book isn't awful but it just is average at best. ** (out of ****)

THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #9 + ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #22

Back in the day (I'm old), Marvel used to have a bunch of Spider-Man titles. He is their premium character, right? So it makes sense to load the market with his books. The early 90's had The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, and Web of Spider-Man. I was a kid so I don't remember if all the titles were out at the same time...but basically every week you could read a Spider-Man book and if you didn't like one writer or one artist you could just pick the one book you enjoyed. DC realizes this earth-shattering idea and has a slew of Batman books out. Every week you can read one. Batman, Batman, Inc., Batman & Robin (Robin is dead...but the book is still being published), Detective Comics, The Dark Knight. DC is smart. Marvel has a few Spider-Man titles...but one is a team-up book (that doesn't count) and the other one has a black kid as Spider-Man. That leaves one...ONE...Spider-Man title. And Peter Parker is dead and Dr. Octopus is Spider-Man now. So that doesn't even really count. Marvel...what the fuck? You have one of comic's best characters. Why aren't there more Spider-Man books?
Rant finished. The Superior Spider-Man #9 has Doc Ock finally getting rid of Peter Parker in his head once and for all. That apparently means in twenty years Doc Ock will still be in Parker's body and still be Spider-Man. I doubt that...but it'd be very funny. I do enjoy Superior Spider-Man but this issue was just beating a dead horse. Parker "died" in, what? December? He "dies" again. Eh. I miss Parker, The Daily Bugle, etc. Some things you probably shouldn't change. As for Ultimate...#22 is the best issue yet. This is an alternate universe Spider-Man: Miles Morales, black teen. His mom is killed by Venom and it's heart-renching stuff. Go Bendis. Good art, too, by Sarah Pichelli.
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #9 **
ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #22 ***1/2

JUPITER'S LEGACY #1

I've been looking forward to this book for awhile. Sad to say, it's average at best so far. I do love Frank Quitely's art and, damn, when was the last time he penciled a full issue? One of the early Batman & Robin books three or so years ago, right? It is nice to see him back. His art is great as usual but the colors aren't dynamic enough (it probably doesn't help that they got the same guy, Peter Doherty, to do the colors, design, and lettering). The story by Mark Millar at least has an intriguing premise: two famed U.S. superheroes have kids struggling to live/thrive/survive in their shadow. Why this book just isn't as spectacular as I had hoped is because Millar usually goes balls to the wall and over the top and he provides excitement. This book is closer to PG-13 than R...and rather dull. Hopefully it picks up. ** (out of ****)

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1

Well they were never famous, so I guess that gets me off the hook for having no idea who the Guardians of the Galaxy are. This is another re-boot, God forbid Marvel come up with some new super heroes. From glancing at the Wikipedia entry, this band of space heroes was created in the late 60's and ran as a back-up tale in various books. It did get it's own run a few years ago but I don't recall that at all. Basically, a guy from space shows up on earth at a farm and gets a chick pregnant then bolts. The kid is half space hero half earthling. He goes on to lead a group of space dudes that fight evil aliens. This current team includes Groot, a tree-man, a talking raccoon named Rocket Racoon, a big green beast, Draxx, and a hot chick warrior named Gomora. Marvel has a movie based on this hitting screens in August 2014...so I suppose they think people will still care about this book when it hits #18 (that's if it's on schedule). Marvel did bring their big guns to the party; writer Brian Bendis and penciler Steve McNiven. I think both are great but this book is borderline awful. First off, what's up with the main character's hair? Is the talking tree supposed to be funny? McNiven is not good at drawing cartoon characters and this is a bad choice of a book for him. Even Bendis seems to be floundering. The plot has the hero's father mad at him and some alien race attacking earth and Iron Man shows up. Just by adding a name superhero like Iron Man to this proves that Marvel has no faith in these characters. I loved the #0.1 issue but this issue is just bland. *

INVINCIBLE #101

I never stopped collecting/reading comic books...but there was a lull about five/ten years ago where I was a little oblivious as to what was going on. I always read Savage Dragon so I was in comic book stores and occasionally buying books...but when Brian Bendis was so popular he was name-checked on The OC I was a little unaware of what was going on. When I got back into the realm I heard/read a ton about The Walking Dead so I picked up #48 and enjoyed it and have read it ever since. I liked Kirkman so I picked up a copy of Invincible and it was okay but I felt totally lost so I picked up all the trades and got caught up. At a certain point I stopped reading Invincible for the sole reason that the library never got the latest trade paperback. With #100 looming I decided to get caught up so I read the "Viltrumite War" and the Dinosaurus saga and I just picked up #101 so I think I'll be reading this monthly from now on. It's about half as good as The Walking Dead...but I do enjoy horror books and zombies more so there is that caveat. As a superhero book, Invincible is good, not great. It's certainly colorful. Kirkman has a knack for a last page cliffhanger/reveal that's cool. In this issue we find out that Mark and his girlfriend will be keeping their child (she had an abortion previously). Mark's dad, Omni-Man, has been exiled on the moon. & Robot and crew are working hard to put the world back together. It's not the world's greatest comic book, but just the fact that it's #101 and it's only had one writer and two artists somehow makes it sweeter. I look forward to another one-hundred issues. **1/2

Short Reviews for Wednesday, March 13th, 2012

AGE OF ULTRON #2: Sure this "event" is a rip-off of The Terminator and probably a ton of other things but if you're gonna rip-off something at least rip-off something good. So Ultron, a robot, has taken over the world and is killing all the humans. Spider-Man and Captain America and Thor and a few others are left and struggling to survive in a destroyed New York City. Brian Bendis is writing and Bryan Hitch is drawing it. Last week's #1 had a foil embossed die-cut cover (or whatever it's called...it took me back to the early 90's). Very entertaining, although I don't like that this event is happening outside of all of the regular books. Hitch's artwork is good in spots, and #1 was better...but it's the best event I've read from Marvel in awhile. **1/2

CROSSED: BADLANDS #25: Garth Ennis is back writing an arc. Of course he has to add a gratuitous, gross-out scene for no real reason (it involves anal fisting...if you wondered). Outside of that, it's a pretty good issue that does a nice job setting up an intriguing story. Crossed has always been hit or miss. Ennis' stories have been better than David Lapham's. This series, Crossed: Badlands, had a stand-out with Jamie Delano's tale that took place in Florida. But even that devolved into a mess. The one problem with this particular issue is the art. Raulo Caceres is just not very good. But he's okay drawing the dark shit Ennis comes up with...so I guess it's good they found some unlucky soul to do it. **1/2

BATMAN #18: No more Joker. No more Greg Capullo. So...yeah, most expected a waste of an issue. It does seem to cement a new Robin, but it isn't all that compelling. **

THE WALKING DEAD #108: This issue introduces a new hero, a dread-locked black dude that owns a tiger. The current Negan storyline is the best thing to happen to this book since pre-#50, when the book was awesome. So it's another interesting chapter. ***

UNCANNY X-MEN #1

I'll admit: I've never been the biggest X-Men fan. The movies were okay, but I wasn't alive or reading comics when some of the bigger storylines occurred like "The Dark Phoenix Saga" or "Days of Future Past." I read Jim Lee's run in the early 90's and have sampled it here and there. This current run by Bendis which also includes All-New X-Men is pretty good stuff, albeit nothing revolutionary or awe-inspiring. It's fun, that's about it. This book is about the semi-evil X-Men: Cyclops and Emma Frost and Magneto and their new group. They're going around the world recruiting new mutants. Cyclops' power is awry. & Magento is secretly trying to take down Cyclops. The script by Bendis is crisp and entertaining. The art by Chris Bachalo is terrific. It's a good start. ***

Short Reviews for Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

YOUNG AVENGERS #1: Well the fanboys on the internet are in an orgiastic frenzy over this. Will that translate to sales? Probably not (go ask Journey into Mystery). The fact that this book is, so far, awful certainly won't help. Granted, it's only one issue. Perhaps it's setting up awesome things to come. Writer Keiron Gillen doesn't seem to understand that you have to hook people early. A #1 issue should blow your mind and make you salivate for #2. This book is just...boring. It's also fucking confusing as hell. It feels like this is issue #12 or something. There's barely an introduction to anyone. I have no clue who these people are besides Kid Loki and Hawkeye's girl friend. Very terrible stuff. -No Stars-







HELLBLAZER #299: The end is neigh. I'm sad...but honestly this book has been merely standard lately save for the awesome Simon Bisley covers. In March it starts as Constantine #1 with a new creative team and no curse words or nudity. This issue is typical; John dies but doesn't. There's a demon. It's #299...don't expect different shit now. **1/2
















CHEW #31: So this is the start of the second half of this book. I guess it's stopping at #60 for no real reason. This book could either be better as a monthly forever book or one that stopped at #12. I'm not sure because it has gotten a little stale but it is still amusing and fun. Tony's sister was dismembered and murdered in #30 so this is the funeral. Plus we have the boys working on a case involving deadly energy drinks. With a funeral you'd expect this book to at least show some emotion and swerve a bit but it's all one note fluff. For a book to go sixty issues it really needs to produce more than comedy hijinks. **










HELL YEAH #6: This book is bizarre. It plays with parallel universes and super-heroes but hasn't quite hit the perfect note yet. It also makes no sense. There is a topless hottie in it. Go Image! **












JUSTICE LEAGUE #16: This is "Throne of Atlantis" part three. The army of Atlantis attacks the United States. The art is good (Ivan Reiss) and it's typical group super-hero stuff. I never thought these mega-group books worked for one reason or another. Maybe in the 60's when dumb action was what worked they were good. And it's only #16 and Jim Lee is already gone. DC, you suck. **1/2

Best Book of 2012: SAGA Best Issue of 2012: SAGA #1

It was the year of Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staple's Saga. Sorry if you're tired of hearing about it...but it was the best book of the year and the first issue was the best issue of the year. It was well written and beautifully drawn but the reason that it was superior to everything else was the fact that it delivered on the hype. A new Vaughn book is rare; this one is already right up there with his best, Y: the Last Man. I suppose it's because it has everything; action and romance, weirdness and emotion, great heroes and great villains, and even a great letter column. The first issue had people with TV's for heads having sex and an alligator butler...also one hell of a last page. This was just epic and sublime at the very same time. This is why we read comics.

Best Cover of 2012: BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS #2

 

If you happened to see this in a comic book store on the rack or saw it online then you were curious. It got you interested. It's dynamic and draws you in. That's what a good cover should do. I guess the only problem is that this doesn't happen in the issue.

Best Writer of 2012: BRIAN K. VAUGHN "SAGA"

I'm not sure if he ever gave a reason to return to writing comic books. Perhaps his time in Hollywood wasn't as dynamic as he hoped (currently he's adapting Stephen King's Under the Dome for Showtime...not the greatest assignment, is it?), or maybe he really does love writing comic books. Either way, Brian K. Vaughn came back with Saga, his first book since the mediocre Ex-Machina. Saga is a return to form. It's funny, it's weird, it's compelling, it's beautiful. Sure, Marko is more or less Yorrick, and sure, it's more or less Y: the Last Man in Space, but why change a working formula? The characters, the story, the dialogue...it's all so perfect. Even the letters column is a treat. He's already one of the best writers in the history of comic books. If you don't believe me, try an issue of Saga and be blown away.

Best Artists of 2012: AMANDA CONNER & PAUL MOUNTS "BEFORE WATCHMEN: SILK SPECTRE"

Hell has frozen over. There actually was something worthwhile in these Before Watchmen books. First off, the entire line is pointless. Alan Moore's book already delved into the past of all the characters. Second, this book, Silk Spectre, was trite. Written by Darwyn Cook and Amanda Conner, the story involved the psychedelic 60's San Francisco and a drug introduced into the hippie community that made them want to buy material things. Yes, it was stupid. But the art! Oh, God, what glorious, colorful Archie-esque art by Amanda Conner and colorist Paul Mounts. The story was okay but I looked forward to each issue just to look at it. Conner, sadly, rarely draws, and it's a shame that DC wasted so much talent on this bad idea that was Before Watchmen but at least we got the best art of the year out of it. It's something.

Best of the Year: 2012

I think the biggest story in comics this past year was the return of writer Brian K. Vaughn. I think that says a lot that the return of a writer is actually a big story. That his and Fiona Staples' new book, Saga, turned out to be incredibly entertaining and fun and weird and gorgeous is almost a given. The other big deal was the fact that so many books I read ended (Scalped, Sweet Tooth, I Zombie, The Boys). Some books kept chugging along; Image published the 100th issue of The Walking Dead (poor Glenn). Image also re-booted a handful of old Rob Liefeld books and, surprise surprise, Glory turned out to be phenomenal. DC had their first full year of their "new 52" and Batman was the star thanks to great art by Greg Capullo and some very dark and interesting stories by Scott Snyder involving The Joker and The Court of Owls. Marvel copied DC and re-started a bunch of titles with new #1's and shuffled the writers/artists around...and Hawkeye turned out to be their book of the year. Oh, and Peter Parker died. Yeah. So it was an eventful year.