Blasphemy Reviews

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