Blasphemy Reviews

quick takes 2/5

Annihilation #6...It's not original to say it, but man oh MAN this "event" has been so much better than Civil War! It's not even close, really. I hope this develops into at least one long-running Marvel outer space saga, because that's an aspect of the Universe that hasn't gotten much play lately. As these minis have shown, there are many great stories to tell out there. Giffen's uneven reputation gave me pause, but I'm glad to have read these. The trials of Nova, Drax, Ronan, Cammi, and Moondragon have been compelling like few other stories in memory. Excellent.

Daredevil #93...hits the reset button. Would it really have been so hard to write stories about Daredevil on the run all over the world, hunted, not able to practice law? I guess it does take the character out of his element, but still. A ho-hum plot, competently executed, still makes you go ho-hum. I guess we'll see what Brubaker really wants to do with this character now, though. Eh.

Black Panther #24...I so enjoyed the Christopher Priest take on this character, so it's taken a while for Hudlin to win me over. But he really has, with subtle, political storylines that establish the Panther as a unique presence in the Marvel Universe. I have high hopes about the art, too, which shows signs of developing into something special. Good.

Invincible #38...I'm forever on the fence about this series. On the one hand, I love the art, which manages great detail and great clarity at the same time. I also find the overall plotting to be imaginative and compelling, with a real direction to the series as the title character slowly realizes what it means to be his father's son. But the dialogue always turns me off, and, as so often happens in Kirkman-scripted books, this leads to scenes that should be quite emotional falling flat. I've never bought this series regularly for that reason, but I did pick up this issue to note that everything interesting about it is still interesting, with a war and a break-up looming on the horizon. Unfortunately, the dialogue is still bad. OK, I guess.

Moon Knight #7...Reviews have been quite mixed on this series, but I really like it. They're giving us a hero who is insanely driven to fight crime, but also not that great at it. It's an interesting variation on Batman that hasn't really been tried before, making this series an oddity that probably won't survive the departure of its high-profile artist. But it's been Excellent.

American Virgin #11...Seagle and Cloonan's unconventional portrait of a Christian continues, as Adam makes some more seriously dangerous choices, all in the pursuit of true love. Excellent.

Teen Titans #43...It's been announced that this is Geoff Johns' final arc; he's going out having our Titans attacked by some evil Titans. A run-of-the-mill story, told exceedingly well. Vintage Johns, in other words. Good.

Silent War #1...In which the Inhumans declare war on humanity. Have they ever done this before? I can't remember, but it seems a natural story for them, and makes them more pro-active, instead of just being victimized by our pollution. I've always thought that Black Bolt was a dubious choice for a ruler, as he's literally one word away from killing people at all times, and perhaps overly reliant on his wife as a result. This story appears to be dealing with this problem head-on, which bodes well. Excellent.

Deathblow #3...I meant to drop this, but decided to give it another try in the hope that Azzarello would show me something. But he doesn't. Bad.

DMZ #15...A well-reviewed series that I hadn't looked at yet. Apparently it's New York City under UN occupation after some sort of war or other calamity, with obvious parallels to Baghdad, complete with thinly-veiled versions of Halliburton and Blackwater. The insurgency-eye-view of the storyline does hold some interest, but it's too cute for me; Vertigo would be much edgier to write a comic that's actually about Baghdad today. Eh.

Blue Beetle #11...This one, on the other hand, is a gem. I'd been reading good things about it, so I picked it up and was delighted by the new guy in the beetle armor. I had no particular attachment to Ted Kord, though, so your mileage may vary. I think this Jaime kid makes a great superhero, and the new artist is great, too. Excellent.

posted by Mr. Blasphemy @ 11:10 AM 0 comments

quick takes 1/21/07

I'm jittery because the Bears are playing (can't help it; it never leaves you, like malaria), so we'll see how I do here...

Ultimate Spider-Man #104...The Ultimatized version of the Clone Saga concludes; it has been no masterpiece, but it has been Good, and the usual suspects are the reason: expressive, fun art from Mark Bagley that puts you right in the heart of all the fisticuffs; and funny, humanizing dialogue from Brian Michael Bendis. And it also employs melodrama while avoiding the pitfalls of melodrama, the way the original story could not. Good.

Gen 13 #4...As expected, this series begins to hit its stride. The art remains fine, though this time it's Sunny Lee instead of Talent Caldwell; to tell the truth, I wouldn't have noticed, which is not an insult to either artist. But the story develops a heart this issue, and, perhaps surprisingly, it's Grunge, who gets first look at how the team has been manipulated by its masters. I have no clue where this whole thing fits into past Gen 13 continuity, or if the reset button has been hit, but for the first time I'm curious about where this is headed. Good.

Godland #15...A new series for me; I'd heard interesting things and decided to pick it up. Basically, it's the Fantastic Four with harder science fiction and some cussing. The art is unapologetically cribbed from Jack Kirby, and possesses many of his charms, though not all of his storytelling magic at its best (who could match that?). The story, by the uneven Joe Casey, manages to be both more mature than the original Fantastic Four stories and remarkably free of cynicism. Good, and I'm looking forward to learning more about this one.

Helmet of Fate: Detective Chimp...Nabu's helmet needs a new host, and it's going to try out several members of DC's back catalogue. In this issue the DC Universe's simian sleuth gives it a try. Detective Chimp, revived from what I must assume to have been deep obscurity by Bill Willingham in the recent Day of Vengeance miniseries, is a surprisingly compelling protagonist, and Willingham writes him here as his usual unsentimental self. Because is pretty obvious that DC is not going to put a monkey in the costume of one of its traditional powerhouses permanently, this story rises or falls on whether the monkey does anything interesting while he does have the helmet on. And he does. Good.

The Spirit #2...Terrific storytelling from Darwyn Cooke, whose cartoony art really ought to be given a try by more artists on mainstream titles, considering how welcoming and coherent it seems. As someone who has never read The Spirit, the bar to enjoyment for me would be that he would be just another boring square-jawed guy in a domino mask, but as written and drawn by Cooke he's actually quite human and pleasantly fallible. If it's the same thing every issue it might get old, but so far, so Good.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between #1...On the other hand, this is terrible. The art is actually the best I've ever seen on a Star Trek comic, except for the graphic novel Adam Hughes drew, but the story...ugh. Really, really dry, with one compelling sci-fi idea but absolutely no heart. Bad.

Fantastic Four #542...On the strength of Dwayne McDuffie's excellent Beyond! miniseries, I'm checking out his run Marvel's flagship title, and it's pretty Good, with some ideas about Reed Richards that are actually quite disturbing. Which I suppose had to be put forward by someone, considering the Events of Civil War. The challenge with this series will be to deal with the fact that the team has been torn in two by Civil War; will McDuffie take the easy way out, and write only half the team? Or will he show what everyone is up to while they work out their differences?

Ultimate X-Men #78...A Shocking Death, but, as so often happens in this series, the lack of human interaction between characters minimizes the drama. Bad, and while I'll keep reading this series, I probably won't review it again for a while.

Thunderbolts #110...Warren Ellis succeeds in making the post-Civil War Marvel Universe look like a dystopian nightmare the likes of which we usually only see in...well, alternate versions of the Marvel Universe imagined by Warren Ellis. One does hope that a little humanity will show through at some point, but the villains snarling at each other this issue are doing so in an interesting way, with interesting motives and foibles behind them. Good.

Agents of Atlas #6...The excellent miniseries concludes, with an unexpected rehabilitation of one of Marvel's most malevolently stereotypical bad guys. The lack of a giant fight at the end is perhaps welcome, but considering that what we get instead is exposition, a little fisticuffs doesn't seem so bad. Still, the ending is among the more moving things I've read in a comic recently, tying the whole series together beautifully in one page, and giving the comic a last minute push to Excellent.

Shadowpact #9...The generic plots and villains of this series always put me on the brink of dropping it, but something always brings me back, and this time it's a good old-fashioned cliffhanger ending. It also helps that the art's settled down into good old-fashioned DC house style. Good.

Y: The Last Man #53...A throwaway character Vaughn used to make a point several years ago pops up again, this time with something important to say. There are many wonderful things about this series, but one of them is the way Vaughn can show us the humanity of his characters even as it's obvious that trauma has radically altered their psyches. Excellent.

Birds of Prey #102...It turns out that Oracle's merry band of non-avian-themed heroines is not quite as cohesive as it might have appeared, raising all sorts of interesting possibilities for intra-team drama. Some terrific art makes this quite Excellent.

Battlestar Galactica #5...I would be quite surprised if Greg Pak is not offered a chance to write for the TV series, as his stories for this comic have been dead on EXACTLY what you'd expect to see on the show. The latest storyline is the best yet, with a fascinating theory of Cylon behavior revealing a new level of sneakiness for the robotic villains. Excellent.

Wonder Man #2...We learn just how the villainess from last issue got so messed up, and it's certainly understandable how she ended up wanting to kill lots of people. The art is a bit sketchy, but does the job. Good.

Cable & Deadpool #36...A slightly inconsequential issue, perhaps because it's a Deadpool solo story, but plenty of laughs and some good moments portraying Deadpool and the Taskmaster's interesting relationship. Good.

She-Hulk #15...After the last few issues have been phenomenal, this one's just OK, with She-Hulk using her smarts and a little help from her friends to beat the Abomination, but less character development than usual, which is what has made this series so good overall. Burchett's better at drawing stories than fights, anyway.

Tranquility #2...Not quite as good as the first issue, with some of the historical sidebars distracting from the story, and a little too much sentimentality surrounding a character we didn't know that well; after all, it's only the second issue. OK.

Justice Society of America #2...I really get tired of Nazi villains, but a truly surprising ending and some really special artwork from Eaglesham push this one into the Excellent category.

posted by Mr. Blasphemy @ 12:24 PM 0 comments

quick takes 01/14/07

Trickling in late, a few more of last month's reads, and a few of this weeks...

Punisher #43...This time, the Punisher is going to have to kill some girls, not that he hasn't done it before. They're the wives of criminals he has killed. They are pretty unsympathetic, being an interesting combination of racist, crazy, and manipulative. Plus they're going to hire a complete psychopath, ably and shockingly introduced picking up a victim at a nightclub. So far it's sort of talky, even with the violence, the way Ennis can occasionally get. Still, having adversaries for the Punisher who at least have some kind of emotional need to get back at him, rather than a need for revenge or a simple business need, is potentially interesting. Good, for now, but will likely get better.

Astonishing X-Men #19...A new storyline, except not really, but it is a change of setting, I suppose, to outer space, where the X-Men have always had pretty good stories. It's been so long since I read the early issues of this series that I'm blanking on what the Breakworld is, but it's not boring in the slightest trying to figure it out. The characterization is still strong; I really, really like what Whedon has done with Kitty Pryde. The art is beautiful; seems like Cassaday had a bit more time this time. Good.

All-Star Superman #6...Another terrific issue of the best comic out there. At first I was worried when the Supermen from other centuries showed up, as having a bunch of ultra-powerful characters about can give a story problems on the human level, but Quitely makes them such memorably odd (and, at first, threatening) characters, and Morrison as per usual knows exactly where his story's heart is. Excellent.

Ultimate X-Men #77...This title has always left me a little cold, except for parts of Vaughn's run, and Robert Kirkman's run is doing nothing to change my overall opinion. It made sense to Ultimatize Spider-Man because his current continuity has a much different, older character, and it made sense to do the Ultimates and Fantastic Four because the idea was obviously to take both of those properties in a different direction. But the X-Men is basically the same, with only minor changes and a streamlined universe that just seems much smaller than the regular one. I love the characters, so I've kept reading it, and it was certainly a welcome alternative to the period of time when Chuck Austen had his hands on mainstream continuity, but I've never looked forward to it the way I do most of the series I read. In this issue, Professor X, acting like he's a teenager, too, declares his love for Jean Grey, which is certainly an interesting take; we'll see if it actually shakes up the status quo. OK.

100 Bullets #79...It's been a while since this issue had a shocking, meaningful death of a long-running character, but here it is. The final confrontation has been building up for an awfully long time, but the art is still gorgeous, the dialogue still both revealing (in the sense of just a few words encapsulating a character) and cryptic (in the sense of sometimes you just have no idea what people are talking about), and the violence still very real. Good.

New Avengers #26...I suppose it was inevitable that Hawkeye return to life, seeing as how he's popular (I really like him, too), his death was meaningless, and his killer was a person who can reshape reality. I'd still rather he'd stayed dead. But this issue does have its strong points, including beautifully misty artwork from Alex Maleev, and subtle hints about what's next for Scarlet Witch. Good.

Powers #22...Our heroes have to stand by helplessly by as an invisible, all-powerful supervillain kills person after person. Good.

Desolation Jones #8...This is one of the better series Ellis has ever done, and it's been sneaking up on me. The damaged protagonist is actually quite different than the usual Ellis protagonist; usually, they're cynical, but this guy's just exhausted. And, even with the art change, the book feels like it's in Los Angeles more than most stories, even ones written by Ellis, feel like they're anywhere. In this issue, Jones takes a taxi ride. Excellent.

Squadron Supreme #7...A truly destructive, nasty fight between Hyperion and Redstone; so nasty, in fact, that you forget this series has left the MAX line. Sometimes I wish Gary Frank's artwork were a little more expressive, and that Zarda could look a little less like a model and a little more like an Amazon, but overall I'm quite satisfied and enjoying this the best of any of Straczynski's work so far. Excellent.

She-Hulk #14...Awesome Andy's issue, as we delve deep into the soul of an android with a box for a head. No lie: I was deeply moved. And Rich Burchett has really become a terrific artist for this series. Excellent.

Runaways #23...I'm cautiously optimistic that Whedon will do well with these characters, but even if he doesn't I have high hopes that they will thrive well in the Marvel Universe, because Vaughn has stamped their personalities so well. (Especially the hilarious Bruiser.) It's worrisome to me that Alphona is leaving, too, though, because not every artist captures these characters as well as he does. This issue is Excellent, by the way.

posted by Mr. Blasphemy @ 7:23 PM 0 comments

quick takes 1/08/07

Many comics to review...holiday buildup...thank you Marvel for decreasing the number of ads...please don't do it again.

Civil War #6...I'm sort of done reviewing this as a comic. It's an event. I don't think it's been great, and I don't think it's been awful. I certainly like it when the status quo gets shaken up, as that's the only way to create actual interest in characters that have been around for so long, and this event has done that. On the other hand, Mark Millar writes a terrible Captain America, somehow not able to find a shred of nobility in a character that should embody it. I don't mind if heroes make bad choices, but they should still talk like themselves. Very few Millar characters talk like anyone but Millar characters. Art is still pretty good, though it would have been better to have Salvador LaRocca do it and get it out on time. In the end it's just OK.

Civil War Front Line #10...As story, this has been a sight better than the main series, except for those awful backup stories comparing the Civil War to actual historical wars. In this issue, they turn Speedball into a new character. Lots of people are troubled by this, but to me they're just saying he lost his mind, and I buy it. Certainly his character will be in good hands in his new series, which I hope Warren Ellis writes for at least twenty issues or so. I'm less interested in Tony Stark's alleged machinations. OK.

Annihilation #5...By far the superior crossover to Civil War. Not even a close comparison. Drax and Ronan, like Tony Stark, are powerful men making dubious use of their power against great evil. But there's no straining for plausibility here, just big fights for the fate of the universe that feel like they really matter. I hope a good regular series comes out of this, but I have no idea what it would be. Excellent.

Incredible Hulk #102...Speaking of new directions for characters that some people do not like, the Incredible Hulk has now been in another dimension or outer space or something for almost a year. Personally, I really like the story. The Hulk, who was sort of gloomy the last time I read him regularly, has become a sort of Cranky the Barbarian, righting intergalactic wrongs by beating up bad guys. His supporting cast, always key in making him interesting, has been pretty good considering that it's all new with this storyline. This issue, the Hulk literally puts his body where the danger is to save his friends. Giving your personal flesh as food as a way of cementing an alliance is pretty cool. Excellent.

American Virgin #10...Adam Chamberlain's origin issue, and the best issue so far of this series. It turns out our hero has not always been such a goody two-shoes, and it turns out he's had a lot more pain in his life than I had assumed. He's all the more interesting for it, and so is this series. Plus, a deadly plane crash. Excellent.

Teen Titans #42...Kid Devil's origin issue. Geoff Johns specializes in revitalizing obscure characters; here he is again, giving Blue Devil's erstwhile sidekick several rich veins of angst and three years to live. Surprisingly effective guest art from Peter Snejbjerg, who did some okay work on Starman and a Preacher special but who seems much more at home in hell. I would have thought I'd have tired of this series by now, but I really haven't. Good.

Criminal #3...After everything went to pot last issue, Brubaker spends this issue setting up just how everything is going to go to pot next issue. One of the reasons Brubaker is good is that he can really get your hopes up that things are going to go well for his characters, and then dash your hopes. His protagonist is also a smart man with limited options making bad decisions. Always good for a laugh. Excellent art from Sean Phillips, who aparently is equally good at zombies and the real world. Excellent.

Midnighter #3...It's official: Garth Ennis is a great superhero writer. Too bad he hates superheroes. Excellent.

Secret Six #6...A terrifc ending to a terrific miniseries. Somehow the protagonists lose none of their sympathy, even though they're mostly pathetic psychopaths, sociopaths, and wannabes. How on earth did the Mad Hatter become believable as the emotional heart of a team? Excellent, though the art was a little patchy throughout.

New Avengers: Illuminati...Pretty uninspiring, as I guess I should have expected. If you're going to create a retroactively powerful and important superteam, they should do something retroactively powerful and important, not go after those poor Skrulls, who, let's face it, have had their empire eradicated too many times to seem a major threat at any point in history. This story could have been taken care of with Skrull Kill Krew: Illuminati, frankly. Eh.

Birds of Prey #101...The new direction is working great so far, with an interesting and believably dangerous new adversary, great artwork (especially Barda's aerial dogfight), and a cliffhanger that is both hilarious and terrifying. Excellent.

Bullet Points #2...Haven't gotten to #3 yet, and I'm not that eager, frankly. Remember when Straczynski was the biggest thing ever to hit comics? Well, aside from Supreme Power and parts of Rising Stars, he's turned out to be pretty run-of-the-mill. Still, he's proved a competent guardian of most characters, if not exactly the mind-blowing font of story we all used to think he was. His big idea here is "what if Peter Parker got hit by the gamma bomb and what if Steve Rogers wore high-tech armor?" The answer is, well, then Peter Parker would be the Hulk and Steve Rogers would be Iron Man. Nothing remarkable here, but definitely acceptable fun. OK.

Gen 13 #3...These Wildstorm Universe relaunches, with the surprising exception of Midnighter, seem so far to be critical and commercial flops. Too bad; most of these characters have been written pretty well at times in the past, but so far just about all of these top flight writers seems horribly miscast. (OK, Wetworks is written just fine, too, but the art is offensively bad.) Gail Simone, so successful with a bunch of grownups on Birds of Prey and a bunch of crazies on Secret Six, and absolutely inspired on her sublime Tranquility, seems lost here in the world of teen angst. The art is pretty good, but something's just not clicking. I remain hopeful. OK.

Ex Machina #25...A pretty good character piece for Mayor Hundred's bodyguard, with the usual sublime art. I am, however, beginning to worry that a closing plotline is just not going to develop. We'll see. Good.

Wonder Man #1...A textbook example of why Peter David is such a good writer; he easily transforms the undistinguished and bland Wonder Man into a compelling protagonist who knows just how undistinguished he is, and accepts it. And also, we have an interesting conflict. Excellent.

Punisher War Journal #2...It has a nice way of contrasting the Punisher with Captain America, but I've discovered how many Punisher books per month I'm interested in reading, and the answer is less than two. OK.

The Spirit #1...Pretty good relaunch of Will Eisner's classic. No, I've never read any Eisner, either, though I guess I probably should. This issue mostly makes me remember how much I enjoyed Brubaker and Cooke's Catwoman, but it does have some pretty funny dialogue and an originally grotesque villain. Good.

Fallen Angel #11...More tales of cold, cold revenge, with terrific art. Lee's son Jubal is the most interesting character right now. Still Good, though apparently no one is buying it any more. Too bad.

Ultimate Power #3…Now we go back and learn the story from the Squadron’s point of view, and this mini is all the better for it, with more motivation in place. Greg Land, who did some terrific zombie disaster art in Ultimate Fantastic Four, is right at home portraying the attack of an interdimensional muck monster. Good.

Crossing Midnight #1…An intriguing new Vertigo series from Mike Carey, with lovely understated art from Jim Fern, who I believe drew an issue of X-Factor once. The narration is a bit heavy and expositional, and I’m not sure that the atomic bomb as pseudomystical event is a story that needs to be told again, but it’s unique enough that I’ll try another few issues. Good.

Battlestar Galactica #4…The artwork continues to improve, but is still cartoony enough that I only feel 90% like I’m watching the TV show when I read this. Which sure says a lot for Greg Pak’s writing. He’s got the same kinds of ideas as the writers of the show, which I don’t get to watch on account of not having a TV. Good.

Newuniversal #2…More crazy fun from Warren Ellis. I can only imagine what the fans of the original New Universe think of this, but not having read anything of the original myself, I’m enjoying it as a sort of successor to Planetary, with world-spanning weirdness among previously normal people. Ellis usually chooses one focus character, but here he’s got at least six, and the story feels big. I hope it can deliver on the promised bigness. Good.

Winter Soldier: Winter Kills…A terrific one-shot that finally brings me around to the idea of Bucky still being alive. The whole enterprise is worth it for the conversation with Namor at the end, which shows proper respect for Marvel history and gives us great characterization of the cranky old Avenging Son, who’s probably due for another try at a regular series. Ed Brubaker is a workhorse and I hope he’s the one guiding Cap’s continuity for a while. Reliably good art from Lee Weeks. Excellent.

Jack of Fables #6…Jack may be a schemer, but there’s got to be something more to him than schemes, or the device will get tired. It’s mostly just scheming here, but to the extent that this title exists to bring us information on the fables that haven’t made it into the regular book, it works. A lot of the fun of both series is spotting all the characters you can, and for all that this has been billed a solo title, it’s actually got quite a lot more than just Jack in it. Still, he’s in control. Let’s see if he’s going to evolve at all, because Jack being Jack isn’t going to be fun for more than fifteen issues or so. Good.

Ultimate Vision #2…Brandon Peterson’s art, which seemed perhaps a little flat in the Ultimate Extinction series, is really marvelous here, showing brilliantly the scary bigness of Galactus or whatever they’re calling him in the Ultimate Universe. Storywise, just as it looks like AIM is becoming just a pack of boring mad scientists, the REAL bad guy shows up. Tarleton, incidentally, was the original name of Modok in Marvel continuity. Something tells me he’s going to end up a little more powerful here. The Vision herself spends most of the issue disassembled, but she’s managed to locate a friend who’s just as compelling a protagonist. Excellent.

Ultimate Spider-Man #103...A seemingly ill-advised plot point is quickly swept away, and this continues to be Good and much better than the original clone saga, which, I must admit, I did not read all of but did not think was that bad. We have only six more issues to enjoy Mark Bagley's brilliance, but not to worry because he's being replaced by...

Nextwave #11...Stuart Immonen, who draws his penultimate issue of this soon-to-be canceled treasure of a series. There are promises of miniseries somewhere down the line, but given the full plates of both creators, I really only hold out a fool's hope. Still, we'll always have the mad brilliance of these twelve issues, which read like Ellis and Immonen put them together in the same room with The Best of Monty Python playing in the background. Excellent.

52 #34...The best series DC has ever produced, in my opinion. One of the only comics out there today that gives one the delight of a truly enormous story, the way reading X-Men used to, but better. And yet it's still completely comprehensible. This issue, the Question dies in bed, in a genuinely moving scene. (Incidentally, last week's Christmas issue was a gem, too.) Excellent.

X-Men #194...Speaking of X-Men, it's doing just fine these days. Humberot Ramos is not an artist I would automatically pick for the relentlessly serious X-titles, but the cast of oddballs Rogue has assembled for her strike force look just write as drawn by the guy who gave us Impulse. Mike Carey sure does throw a lot of new characters at you, but so far it's not too confusing. Good.

Y: The Last Man #52...Plenty of soap opera shenanigans afoot here, including an alleged crush that I'm not sure I buy, but I can't complain when the central mystery remains so tantalyzingly close to being solved, and yet so far out of my imaginative grasp. Always Good at least.

Checkmate #9...Just as much fun as the old Suicide Squad series was, but the added layer of realistic espionage jargon and conflict that Greg Rucka is able to provide, thanks to his chronicling of the adventures of Tara Chace, makes it all the better. The melding of superheroes and grunt feds is seamless. Excellent.

Thunderbolts #109...Considering how "cosmic" the final storyline has been, this final issue of Fabian Nicieza's run is surprisingly down-to-earth and not a little moving, with a deep look at how these characters, many of whom started out and existed for years as nothing more than bombastic, clownish villains, have evolved into real people. Nicieza, a giving writer, works hard to tie up his own plot threads and pave the way easily for the new team to take over. The departure of Donny Gill, which nearly happen off-panel it's so understated, is especially well-done. I have not read even half of Nicieza's work on these characters, and it's going to be a pleasure to track them down in back issues. Excellent.

Daredevil #92...full up of ads, and all the worse for it, as Michael Lark's subdued style has trouble peeking out from behind them. It's probably worth the patience and expense to wait for the trade when it comes to end-of-the-year Marvel stories, as apparently they're going to lard us up with ads in November and December from now on. Anyway, this issue is the evil villain explaining her plan, and Brubaker pushes it hard but it still comes off cliche. OK.

Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes #25...The bad guys show up, but they're actually good guys warning about REALLY bad guys, who are about to show up. Pretty fun and Good.

Cable & Deadpool #35...Cable lets Wade spend some time with his bad memories, with predictably mixed results considering Wade is mostly a conscienceless killer. Mostly. Excellent.

Justice #9...Alex Ross clearly possesses some kind of complicated personal ethics concerning who the DC characters are, and these ethics have been offended enough by recent DC continuity for him to write this exceedingly odd tale in response. There's always a potshot in here at a better story; in this issue it's Villains United. Nevertheless, this remains a fun romp with beautiful art; a weirdly inspiring spread of the Justice League "wearing" the Metal Men into battle closes this issue. Good.

Fables #56...A Christmas issue, with Santa Claus, who is, of course, a Fable himself, charged with making sure the Adversary doesn't try to invade via the North Pole; I suppose someone has to. There are sappy elements here, but Santa also gives Flycatcher an important quest, which is pretty promising. Good.

Loveless #14...Not quite comprehensible, and extremely nasty. I guess now I'm just waiting for some kind of resolution. Eh.

Hellblazer #227...This story has been going on for way, way too long, and continues to galumph through until the final pages, which bring unexpected hilarity to this glum Glaswegian enterprise and actually have me anticipating eagerly the next issue for the first time in quite a while. OK.

Shadowpact #8...The Ragman's family history saves the day. Despite the inability of Willingham to come up with interesting adversaries for his quite likable, unique heroes, this series continues to be just odd enough to keep my interest. Shawn McManus' art, which has a comic touch, helps tremendously. OK.

posted by Mr. Blasphemy @ 11:04 AM 0 comments

quick takes 12/8/06

Until Marvel stops running so many ads with their comics, they get marked down a grade.

Ultimate Vision #1...Can't say I was waiting around for Ultimate AIM to show up, but kudos to Mike Carey, who seems to be writing everything at the moment, for ratcheting up the creepiness to make these guys a credible science villain, not unlike something Warren Ellis would have come up with. And the Ultimate Vision, despite being quite different from the traditional character, is instantly sympathetic and interesting; "she" is a total goody two-shoes, but has a take-no-guff kind of attitude that handily prevents her from becoming boring. Sort of like the Silver Surfer in his best stories; could the Vision be taking his role as the major cosmic do-gooder of the Ultimate Universe? Oh, and typically professional art from Brandon Peterson. Good.

Deathblow #2...Brian Azzarello continues to be the sort of writer who will allow his protagonists to do all kinds of nasty things most writers would only consider for the bad guys. I can't really say I'm rooting for Cray yet, but I'm definitely scared for his soul. Unfortunately, the art is not always particularly expressive or clear. OK, but I have hopes.

Doctor Strange: The Oath #3...Magnificent art from Marcos Martin, who will probably be drawing for Vertigo before too much longer. The story remains compelling, in there between the ads, with an arch-nemesis for Strange so obvious I can't believe no one's thought to come up with such a character before. OK.

Welcome to Tranquility #1...The best first issue of anything I remember reading in quite some time. The premise could have been a one-off joke, but Simone cares deeply about her characters and they come to vivid life with Neil Googe's excellent art, which is clear, sunny, and witty, setting exactly the right tone. And it is funny, too. Excellent.

Agents of Atlas #5...The team falls apart, then comes back together. It happens perhaps a bit too easily, and the reveal at the end of the issue seems to set up the same cliffhanger as last issue. We'll see. Still, for breathing life into these z-list characters, and making it seem obvious that such wonderful weirdos should get their own series, Jeff Parker deserves some kind of award. Incidentally, has the best covers of any comics I've seen in a while. OK.

Midnighter #2...For someone who doesn't like superheroes much, Garth Ennis sure is writing a good superhero story here. I'm really glad he decided not to phone it in, because this has some terrific moments and some key development on a hero who was getting perhaps a bit stale. Good.

American Virgin #9...Well, that's an unexpected cliffhanger, isn't it? This appears to be Seagle looking to explore Adam's feelings, as a Christian, about death, which is good development, as we can't be talking about sex all the time, and we've probably plummed the depths of revenge. Becky Cloonan remains one of the best-cast artists on any comic out there, as the "fleshiness" of the villain tells more about him than any of his dialogue. In fact, this comic would become excellent if Seagle could let her show instead of telling us, sometimes. Good.

Justice Society of America #1...I eventually tired of the first run on this series, but darn if Geoff Johns hasn't hooked me back in. Actually follows a similar structure to the recent JLA revival, but does it much, much better, with clear ideas about who the characters are and why they need the Society. An insane Starman, an eager-to-please Red Tornado protege...these are good places to start. Excellent.

White Tiger #2...Admirably lighthearted and well-placed in the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, the generic art makes it extremely hard to weed the story out from between the ads. Eh.

Wetworks #3...This one, on the other hand, could use some ads to cover up the atrocious artwork. I like to give any artist the benefit of the doubt, because the stories are really my thing, but come on, these character designs are horrible. It does have Mike Carey writing it, and it's sort of a horror/cop hybrid, which has potential...there are good ideas here, but not much nice to look at, with the bad art making the graphic violence somehow even more sordid. Terrible.

Ultimate Power #2...Greg Land on art is very pretty, true, and the fact that every single hero in the Ultimate Universe is showing up does have some kind of appealing everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-ness, but, as often happens when Bendis writes big events, we've really still only sketched the edges of any compelling plot. Bendis is as alwasy much more interested in how the characters talk to each other. This is fine, and he can make almost any character work for a little while because he can get them to open up and talk to us. But get someone else to write the big fights, please. Eh.

Teen Titans #41...Sort of confusing how Jericho comes back to life, isn't it? I think the fill-in artist is mostly to blame, though; he also makes a hash of the last page, where Deathstroke should be menacing but looks like he weighs about 150 pounds. Still, this has been a successful, wide-ranging storyline with many great character moments. Good.

Newuniversal #1...Really, really great, subtle art from Salvador Larocca to go with a quietly huge story from Warren Ellis, but holy hell there are too many ads in here to appreciate it. OK.

Uncanny X-Men #481...Ed Brubaker has these characters nailed; I can't remember the last writer to do Lorna Dane so well...OK, I can, it was J.M. DeMatteis. Considering how much happens, the plot does seem to be developing slowly, with the major villain quite far off-page, but the capture of the Professor feels like it's going to develop into something important, and the soap opera elements with Rachel are fun, too. OK.

Incredible Hulk #101...Somehow, this one escaped having as many ads, and damn if it doesn't read much better because of it. I've adored this storyline, and think it is the best one Marvel has ever done with the character, hands down. Give Greg Pak whatever he wants, Marvel. Excellent.

posted by Mr. Blasphemy @ 7:41 PM 0 comments

quick takes 10/13/06

The Boys #3...Still deeply cynical, but Hughie gives the whole enterprise its human heart. I have a horrible feeling that the young superhero we meet at the beginning is headed for more troubles, though. Good.

Annihilation #3...Much, much better art means a much better comic. The nameless villains who showed up at the end of last issue turn out to be less than crucial to the story; the crucial element, thankfully, is the desperation and courage of Nova, Drax, and others as they fight and lose a war. Excellent.

Civil War Frontline #7...Please, Marvel, stop comparing a law enforcement problem in a comic book universe to WWII! It's not too late! Give a few more pages to the rest of the stories for the next few weeks, because most of them are pretty good. But gee whiz, do those final four pages drag it down. OK.

Uncanny X-Men #479...The X-Men are attacked by a man wielding, well, not the most convincing weapon of all time. So far, the early issues' promise of exposure of the underside of the Shi'ar Empire have yet to materialize, but we'll see. Otherwise, the story is solid, with good characterization all around and an effective cliffhanger. Another winner from Brubaker, who's a real workhorse. Good.

Battlestar Galactica #3...The art is actually getting better, and the story crackles with great dialogue and paranoia. Really every bit as good as the TV show, which is good for those who don't have cable. Excellent.

posted by Mr. Blasphemy @ 11:59 AM 0 comments

quick takes 10/02/06

This month's big comics shipment has just arrived, plus last week was a huge week for new comics from the regular store. Let's dip in, shall we?

Loveless #10...The cover shows Wes Cutter holding a sword, standing next to a severed head on a pike. Thankfully, the implied atrocity does not take place in these pages. Unthankfully, the only thing Cutter does with a sword in this issue is stick it into a table for emphasis during another speech. Really, what is going on here? It's not like Reconstruction America lacks for heroes and villains. The KKK was forming. There were black men elected to offices and appointed to the bench in counties where they would soon be lynched. There were bands of rebels acting like the war wasn't over. Ex-generals were making millions from the government promoting railroads, including some former confederate generals. There was a lot going on. Why can't we see some of that in this book? Why do we get nothing but flashbacks, speeches, and more hiding in the woods? Sigh...Marcelo Frusin's art continues to be gorgeous and perfect for the book. They need Mat Johnson to write it, though, not that Azzarello will be giving it up. Bad.

Shadopact #5...There's no doubt that Bill Willingham has a broad and fertile imagination, but sometimes I wonder about his focus. The Day of Judgment miniseries was good because it presented a serious problem and allowed the oddball, ragtag Shadowpact try to deal with it. Now, with the regular series, the characterization remains strong, and certain plot elements, like Nightmaster's troubles at the bar, are engagingly odd. But Willingham has not been successful in articulating the goals of this team, establishing any real conflict, internal or external, beyond having to beat up bad guys, or even in making us laugh at the absurdity of hard-bitten Detective Chimp as we did in the mini. And the parade of fill-in artists has not helped. I'm afraid I have to rate this one a misfire. Eh.

Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways...Speaking of misfires, Zeb Wells wrote the funniest Spider-Man story I've ever read, the MTV beach house parody. And he wrote the recent terrific, and also quite funny, New Warriors miniseries. The man has talent. Like the equally hilarious Gail Simone, he's trying to move into more serious writing. Unlike her, he seems to think that "more serious writing" means leaving his sense of humor behind entirely. Thus we have this miniseries. Now, he has not been helped by the dreadful art of Stefano Caselli. But Caselli has improved with this issue, and it's still not great. Instead of a riff on the high concept premise of Civil War, all we get is a bunch of young heroes taken prisoner by a sadist. Now, I didn't necessarily expect great times and hijinks from a Serious Crossover Event that speaks about Important Issues, but I did hope there would be something more than reheated villainy. No luck. I admit that it is interesting to bring back Grant Morrison's Marvel Boy, but so far he's just another weapon the aforementioned sadist uses to punish the kids. And us. Bad.

Justice League of America #2...Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have been sitting around a table talking for three issues now. Nevertheless, the conversation is enjoyable, because the reader certainly cares about what they're discussing (who does or does not get to be in the new JLA). It's interesting to hear superheroes evaluating each other's strengths and weaknesses. Brad Meltzer does not appear to be shooting for Art here, which is a good thing. He's writing a story that feels like sort of a classical take on the JLA. (I wouldn't know, because I've never read those stories.) It's got a lot of simmering subplots, which offer an action counterpoint to the bigtime heroes sitting around a table. The decision to make Red Tornado the focus of the story still strikes me odd, but at least Meltzer is comfortable writing a large cast, which is critical on a book like this. Ed Benes on art is very conventional, but certain pages, like the spread of Red Tornado's damaged cranial unit, are quite effective, if not actually beautiful. Good.

American Virgin #7...I've realized for the first time how critical the art is to telling this story. Beck Cloonan makes all these characters so fleshy and tactile, emphasizing freckles, sweat, errant tresses of hair, and piercings. It emphasizes the sexuality, and in some cases sexual conflict, that drives the book's action. Cloonan deserves some kind of award, really, because Steve Seagle needs help to keep the focus on the sex, as he's much too oddball a writer to forge ahead in a straightforward way; if the story involves a repressed American evangelical virginity advocate, you can bet he's going to find a way to involve an international leather club sex cult serial killer, which is what we get in this issue. But Cloonan keeps our minds on the sex. Good.

Civil War: Frontline #6...Speaking of oddity, what's with the backup strips in this series comparing a comic book storyline to World War II? I mean, come on. The main storyline, however, is still serviceable, with Ben Urich revealing that he may, in fact, be the real hero of this crossover. The Speedball subplot is barely believable, because this Negative Zone prison is so awful that it's hard to square its creation with the Reed Richards we know. But you can sort of see how Reed would get caught up in the scientific challenge of creating it. And Speedball is going to end up a villain after this, or something, which would be kind of cool. The Atlantean story, on the other hand, has yet to connect to the overall narrative in any way, but we will see. OK.

Jack of Fables #3...The closing panel is probably the funniest thing I read this week. The exact goals of Mr. Revise, the villain, remain amorphous, but the storytelling is rock solid, with strung out fairies, a hilariously self-centered protagonist, and an always-compelling jail break storyline. Good.

Ultimates 2 #12...Big, big, fight. Really, I am amazed by the bigness of this fight. Every time you think it can't get any bigger, it gets bigger. That's how big it is. Only one more issue of bigness left. Should be out by next August. OK.

Eternals #4...Four issues in, we're finally moving beyond a series of character pieces and into a cliffhanger that should inspire dread in anyone who knows their Third Host from their Fourth Host. Not that the character pieces were bad. And of course the whole thing has beautiful John Romita Junior art. He can do know wrong, except Uncanny X-Men #306. Good.

Teen Titans #39...The parade of difficult personalities and downright jerks continues, as the Titans continue interviewing the people who decided not to stay on the team during its lost year. As far as I can tell, every hero in the DC universe must have a sidekick, but, as is often the case, Geoff Johns manages to be somehow respectful of this hoary cliche in the same moment that he draws our attention to it. Tony Daniel is off his game a little this month on art, but it's still Good.

Batman #657...Now this is more like it! Grant Morrison writing Batman sounded like a chance for some first-rate playful weirdness, and three issues in, playful weirdness has finally arrived. Batman's son by a supervillainess turns out to be a holy terror; who would have imagined? Hilarious and scary at the same time. All drawn by Andy Kubert, whose work I adore. Excellent.

Hellblazer #224...Huh? I thought this was a new storyline. Nope, it's the same old one, despite a breather last issue to kill off an interesting character Warren Ellis created. Can you tell I'm getting a little impatient with this storyline? Seven issues of "Empathy", and now we get...more empathy. But some old friends arrive at the end to provide some needed humor, and the art is still fantastic, though it might behoove Vertigo's flagship character to get an artist who can turn on the lights a little, once Manco is done. Contrast is good. This issue is OK.

Justice #7...I get the feeling that Alex Ross' complicated values and feelings about the DC Universe have been deeply offended by the direction its characters have taken in recent years, and this maxiseries is the result. I confess it's all the same to me; put Dale Eaglesham on this, and it's another chapter of Infinite Crisis, as near as I can tell, but then I'm not a habitual scholar of DC's canon. Nevertheless, the art maintains Ross' usual grandiosity; he seems to make a small story bigger by sheer force of will. Good.

Fables #53...There's no doubt about it; Gepetto is a psychopath. What a weird thing to write, but Pinnochio's daddy is planning to exterminate the world, and that's all there is to it. I guess creating life from lifeless wood does weird things to your head. Excellent.

Cable & Deadpool #31...A George W. Bush cameo. Duct-taped Deadpool. Hercules in a skirt. Nicieza is the most underrated writer of the past fifteen years. Good.

Astonishing X-Men #17...Huh? I really need to reread the beginning of this storyline, or maybe go back to the beginning of this series. (1995, wasn't it?) I really don't remember how we got to the point of Ktty Pryde mistakenly believing a slimy moth chrysalis is her baby. Nevertheless, Whedon continues to make this (for me) incomprehensible story compelling, with betrayals, doppelgangers, mind control, and impersonators turning this into a romp through our poor damaged X-Men's lives. Still looks like John Cassaday is rushing on art, though. Good.

Ultimate Spider-Man #99...Speaking of impersonators...whoa, that's a lot of clones in this version of the Clone Saga. Is Aunt May a clone too? I really can't tell, and that's what I dig about this comic book. Excellent.

Secret Six #4...They fight the Doom Patrol, in a sort of more-freakish-than-thou contest. Winner: Mad Hatter. Excellent.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #21...I suppose it should not be surprising that a character called Brainiac appears to have lost his mind. Scary, plus: politics. I've always loved the Legion, even when it was being written by its colorist, but I have to say that this might be the best Legion in a long, long time. Excellent.

Daredevil #88..."I'm not a coward. But I'm not very brave." By giving those words to the protagonist of this standalone issue, Ed Brubaker captures Foggy Nelson's character perfectly, and holds up a mirror to the audience as well. Brilliant. Contains some not-too-shabby fill-in art from David Aja. Excellent.

Thunderbolts #106...Is Baron Zemo still evil? Or has he really changed? No clue. Really, no clue. Excellent.

Runaways #20...Art is still excellent, Molly is still hilarious, and someone is still scheming, though this time it's the heartbroken lunkhead. Excellent.

She-Hulk #11...How good is Don Slott? He makes us care about the broken heart of a character called "Awesome Andy." I'm less infatuated with the main John Jameson plot, and I sort of wish we could have Juan Bobillo back on art, but so long as the laughs keep coming, I'll be here. Good.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #34…I was uneasy with this storyline at first, as Mike Carey introduced so many new characters that were so strange all at once that the whole thing threatened to become incomprehensible. But he’s got me back now, with a surprisingly straightforward explanation of who they are that does not detract from their weirdness. Which is what the Fantastic Four is all about, anyway. I liked the zombies okay, I guess, but this is a step up. Marvel should keep this guy around and buy him however many protein bars he needs to keep writing like this. Excellent.

Checkmate #6…Amanda Waller is one of the more unlikely long-lived characters of the DC Universe: a portly black single mother from Chicago who also happens to be the most dangerous practitioner of espionage on the face of the earth. In this issue, everyone spends a lot of time talking about how she has been sidelined, shut down, etc. Somehow this all seems to make her stronger. Excellent.

Fallen Angel #9…OK issue, but terrific cliffhanger which I did not see coming at all. Peter David is good at those.

Nextwave #8…The Mindless Ones do Bernstein, Elsa’s bad education, hilarious captions, fantastic Immonen art…pure joy and Excellent.

Punisher #37…Another storyline, and we’ve got…a recurring villain? OK, to be fair, the Punisher was not trying to kill this guy last time. But I think he will this time! It’s interesting how large a percentage of the Punisher’s adversaries have been Slavic in origin since Garth Ennis started writing him. Excellent.

New Avengers #23…Probably the best issue of this series so far, as Jessica Drew crawls her desperate way out of her status as a triple undercover agent. Bendis may not be able to bring the big crossovers together, but man can he write these character pieces. For him, the destruction of the Hydra base is properly relegated to the background; the important thing is the determined look on Jessica’s face as she drives away. Excellent.

100 Bullets #76…The storm that has been gathering for 75 issues is…still gathering. But as usual, it gathers beautifully. Excellent.

X-Men #190…Misleading cover, even though the cover art is reprinted exactly inside. Still rocketing ahead just like it should; I can’t believe the X-Men are Good again.

All-Star Superman #5…Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, probably the best writer and best artist of this young century, are doing their best work so far. All stars, indeed. Excellent.

Captain America #21…Ed Brubaker writes little in the way of memorable dialogue, and his Big Twists and Revelations tend to be letdowns. But I always want to read his books more than just about anyone else’s, and I’m still trying to figure out why. He’s got good plot mechanics, but are they really that much better than, say, Chris Claremont, who I rarely read? He’s definitely good at making characters sympathetic, and this goes all the way back to Scene of the Crime; but again, is this really so remarkable? There must be something else. I guess I’ll just have to keep reading until I figure it out. Good.

Y: The Last Man #49…Brian K. Vaughan’s strengths, on the other hand, are self-evident: no one around creates so many effortless twists and turns in a story. He throws them off like they’re nothing. Good.

Ultimate X-Men #74…Underwhelming conclusion to an underwhelming storyline. I did enjoy the Invincible collection I checked out from the library, but so far Kirkman’s not doing it for me here. (I won’t read The Walking Dead because I am afraid of zombies.) Eh.

posted by Mr. Blasphemy @ 12:10 PM 1 comments