This week turned out to be rather heavy, and that's even WITHOUT the delays with CIVIL WAR's main books (CW, ASM, FF, FRONTLINE). As such, despite the fact that the delayed "event" looks bad on Marvel's professional end, considering the crushing landslide of chapters in some weeks, I find the breaks refreshing. And hey, some CW books still shipped, just ones that don't rely on those core titles; NEW AVENGERS is still essentially working between the cracks between CW #1-3, and WOLVERINE is off on his merry own. I also got a surprising amount of DC books, 4. I haven't gotten that many since IC, even if two are Bat-books and one is 52. Plus, add in some Ultimate stuff and at least 3 comics that were between $3.50-$4, and it gets very heavy.
Last week I passed on HUNTER/KILLER #6 due to lack of cash and losing a lot of interest in it considering the issue is, oh, at least 4-6 months late (of what was once supposed to be a monthly series). It got some good reviews last week in the B/T, so I looked for it this week. No longer there. And as I promised, I don't care a bit. The lateness sucked about everything I found remotely interesting about the book away. It wasn't bad but was hardly anything I'd call groundbreaking, and as I've been putting more and more cash into comics lately, I have to cut some titles off sometime. I could go to another shop or Manhattan if I wanted to track it down, but since TOP COW didn't put the effort into publishing it on time, why should I go through the effort of tracking the book down? To me it was a B- quality book at it's best. Maybe I'll change my mind, but it's unlikely.
Of course, some of you may find that stance hypocritical as I'll still be getting ALL-STAR SUPERMAN and ALL-STAR BATMAN, both books that're by a bigger company, just about as late and argueably of equal quality at best (at least for ASS; ASB&R is a pure train-wreck). Some may say, "You're being hard on a smaller company like Top Cow/Image, which has maybe 4.5% of the market share in a good month, and giving DC a pass? That's unfair." And they'd be right. Them's the breaks.
Onto the goodness. Major spoilers as always, especially with some of Marvel's poorly kept secrets.
DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGH FOR 8/23/06:
52 WEEK #16: Found the cover quite appealing; as Jones has to churn out an ungodly amount of them, some covers are iconic while others are just "meh", but I liked this one, probably because Question finally graces it again. The main plot of the issue is naturally of Montoya and "Charlie's" adventures in Kahndaq as they're on the run from authorities there for being set up for murder by Intergang. Meanwhile, in "DAYS OF OUR DEMIGODS", Black Adam and Isis are still making godly goo-goo eyes at each other, so they decide to have a wedding, and invite Adam's old rivals, the Marvel family, to it. Mary Marvel questions Isis' judgement, but she swears he's becoming a kinder, gentler Black Adam. The tale hits it's climax when Montoya realizes that the folks Intergang murdered were apparently suicide bombers, and they got one bomber into the crowd to disrupt the festivities. The pair manage to take the bomber down, but Montoya breaks down to find out that it's only a child (a young girl) who she is forced to shoot. For the B-Plot, the "Space Heroes" (Animal-Man, Starfire, and the eyeless Adam Strange) fly off another planet to shoot for home, and next issue we have the return of Lobo, who apparently will be sporting dreadlocks. I was betting on Lobo making an appearence back when it was revealed that everyone in space was looking for this trio, and he's DC's resident "bounty hunting bastich". Granted, he's also one of the biggest examples of a one-note, flat DC character gaining much more popularity and exposure than he probably deserved (his solo title once lasted over 60 issues, for starters). Despite that, Lobo's fine for guest shots in small doses, and I'm wondering what this team of writers does with him. He makes sense in this story. Another solid issue, although I liked the last moreso. It does seem a bit annoying that "Charlie" has been reduced to being Montoya's sidekick for most of this, by virtue of Rucka being the writer and GOTHAM CENTRAL probably selling better than Q's own title did. There are so many stories going about and intertwined at once that even if I get bored of one, eventually it'll change to something else and then come back a little refreshed. It looks like Montoya and Question may have a break from the A-plot in next issue so the space-people can play with Lobo, which I don't mind. The origin of Black Adam was nice, as I didn't know the specifics. Considering that I liked the issue despite not giving a crap about anyone who says SHAZAM really, that's a good achievement. I still think BA's been pulling a poor man's Namor for a while now, but so far is more interesting, and his nation being in a real-life hotspot like the Middle East allows the writers to play with real life issues like arms trading, alliances, and even terrorism, stuff that usually can't be done as well with Namor's Atlantis; most Marvel writers can't get past the "blue people who live under the sea, SPONGEBOB-SQUARE-PANTS!" corniness. Namor naturally does show up this month, but only as a guest in WOLVERINE.
BATMAN #656: Beginning what I'll call "A TALE OF TWO BAT-BOOKS", here is the first, with the "so hot they'll sell regardless of quality" team of Morrison and Kubert. Naturally this feels like something Marvel'd do; stick hot creators on their flagship franchise (Batman is pretty much DC's Wolverine) and have them go nuts. And much like Marvel, it's worked; BATMAN's first Morrison/Kubert issue sold like gangbusters, outdone only by CW and maybe NEW AVENGERS. So it's basically DC's #1 book right now. As such, it's a shame it's not better, because so far it feels quite generic. Happily, this issue has some less Wayne snarkiness (except where appropriate, when he's the playboy at a party), more action, and some clever visuals where the "comic-panel style art" of the art gallery serve as both the setting for the action sequence as well as to give cute little ques to the audience (like a background panel saying BANG! when Batman shoots something, to have the sound effect without having it). Some may have gotten bored with it by the 3rd or so usage, but I enjoyed the naunce for once. The concept of "Ninja Man-Bat's", on the other hand, is incredibly childish and would seem silly even in a Saturday Morning cartoon show. It plays to Morrison's "Bat-Crap Insane" style of writing, but I'm not sure that works as well for Batman as it does for Superman. The action's nice, of course. Kubert's good at that. The issue ends with Talia taking a woman hostage while Batman is drug before his bastard son (who solicts say is named Damien), and apparently post INFINITE CRISIS, DC has flip-flopped and decided that SON OF THE DEMON is now once again in continuity. Much like a lot of the recent continuity flips that DC has done, from killing Pa Kent to saying Joe Chill was the Wayne's parents killers again to lord knows WHAT with Wonder Woman, I'm not sure if some of this flopping is really in the best interest of the characters, or just to complicate stuff because "complicated" is shorthand for "efficient and/or interesting", which is why the government and comics employ it, respectively. As for Batman himself, Morrison's keeping his word and not having him deep into borderline psychosis, which is one extreme, but here he's pretty much a generic superhero, much like in THE BATMAN cartoon, which usually hasn't been too interesting for Batman either. The hook of Batman was that he was different than most spandex -and- gadget heroes, of which there are no end of, because of his darkness and his drive. By all means Batman's been in the dank for a while, but he's an issue away from defending Gotham City from a giant Gorilla by tripping up his feet with wire in broad daylight, circa 1956. I mean BATMAN's not bad, but considering this is DC's A-list book by an A-list team, it should be much, much better than it is; that's more or less how people feel about NEW AVENGERS most of the time, too. Not bad, but the second half has to kick it into gear to keep me onboard past this opening arc. Dini's DETECTIVE is aces better than this, easily. And so is the other Bat-book I got.
BATMAN & THE MAD MONK #1: Part two of "A TALE OF TWO BAT-BOOKS" is this mini by writer/artist Matt Wagner, who did BATMAN & THE MONSTER MEN earlier in the year. Many people feel THIS should be All-Star Batman, and I agree. Wagner's a natural for Batman, from his art styles to the shadows to his chalkly, pulpy narration style. Plus, he manages to combine the Year 1, Batman vs. Mobsters & Corrupt Cops stuff with the Golden Age, Batman vs. Sci-Fi Monsters stuff. I mean, when Batman started in the late 30's, he spent equal time throwing mobsters off rooftops and shooting bonafide vampires in the face. In a way it reminds me of Morrison's approach to Superman in ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, only Wagner doesn't make Morrison's mistake of chucking aside Batman's grimness, as it's essential to the character. In the wake of the "Monster Men" affair, Batman's still acting as Gotham's defender, having a run-in with Catwoman before meeting up with Gordon (and protecting him from a beating from corrupt cops, very YEAR ONE) and delving into the next case; bodies are turning up with their throats ripped open and their blood drained. Very vampire-ish. Meanwhile, there apparently is a cult of vampires (or vampire wanna-be's) drugging people in clubs to do their sick business. The first issue bridges the gap between the last series and the first, as Wayne's prosecuter girlfriend is STILL irked at his lifestyle, but can't seem to get away from him. Hopefully she won't fall into "BAT-MOVIE SYNDROME" and discover who Batman is, as nearly every girlfriend in every Batman movie does, live action or animated. This book is already scores better than both of Morrison's issues of BATMAN, but likely won't sell as well because of a lack of namepower, which is a shame. Wagner and Batman at their best, if you like DETECTIVE or Miller's GOOD Bat-stuff (or MONSTER MEN), pick this up. I know I'll be. My only quibble is the price; $3.50. The last series at least had stocky covers, but these are plain comic covers so I'm not sure the pricetag is fair or wise if they want to get people on. But, whatever, it's worth it.
BLUE BEETLE #6: Some things hit the fan in this issue, but like many serials, as soon as one question is answered, another doozie falls into your lap. Done well, and it thrills you along; done poorly, and it gets annoying and tedius. Not exactly sure where BEETLE is at this point, maybe a happy medium. After having a member of the Posse's babies kidnapped by an ogre, Jamie and the Posse track it down to one of La Dama's "sanctuaries" for mystical metahumans that they round up. They storm in and of course a fight ensues. Jaimie finds out who La Dama is (the mother of one of his lady friends from school) and they find out that while La Dama offers mystical metahumans sanctuary, she also wants to make them into her soldiers in time; by keeping it "optional" for them to leave, she seems more reasonable then a lot of megalomaniacs. However, Phantom Stranger makes a cameo, and it's revealed that Jaimie's Scarab isn't magical at all, but extraterrestrial; alien. WOOOOOOO! * twiddles fingers* That means BB's about to hop into another DC genre, space, which is probably fine as a rookie hero needs to go through the rite of passing. Amazingly, it is worth noting that after 6 issues, the novice Blue Beetle is about 500% more efficient than Ultimate Spider-Man has been in 99 issues, although he does have the "suit does stuff for me" excuse (USM has a "spider-sense", but that only kicks in for plot convience, and he never uses it efficiently). This book, as I have said before, is a little bit more like a manga series than a lot of mainstream DC books, and that may be why I like it; it reads like a superhero version of GUYVER almost, which I enjoyed. It's not rocking my socks off, but Giffen writes a likeable character and a readable superhero opera, so that's good enough for me. Hopefully, though, they get off the "origin" kick, because you do need to abandon the general set-up/exploration premise eventually. The biker subplot also needs to start going somewhere. It's good to have one of these things set in a local where there are plenty of metahumans to fight, but you're not overrun in superheroes like, say, Marvel's New York or DC's Gotham, Metropolis, Central City, etc.
ASTONISHING X-MEN #16: It seems like forever between every issue, but the bi-monthly schedule was announced for the second half of this Whedon/Cassady 24 issue series, so it's expected. The problem comes in issues that are clearly set-up, because then you have to wait so very long for the next that it takes the punch out of it. And while Whedon & Cassaday write enjoyable X-Men stories, they offer nothing innovative and seem intent on homaging 80's stories, which nearly every X-Men writer since Claremont who wasn't Morrison has done, and apparently will forever do until we're all dead. No franchise in Marvel is as stuck in spin-cycle as the X-Men are, I swear to god. As usual, Cassaday's art is good, although it seemed to bare some less "polish" as past issues so it seemed obvious that Cassaday was in a rush; when you have to rush to put out a BI-MONTHLY, that's not good. It's still pretty, don't get me wrong, but with art as high quality as Cassaday, you can tell which issues seemed more "frenzied" than others. In this issue, Buffy sets out to rescue Xander, Willow, Spike and Giles from....what? My mistake. In this issue, Buffy-as-Kitty sets out to rescue the X-Men, who have been dispatched with for the upteenth time (the baddies even mock this) by the Hellfire Club. Logan is still stuck as a man-child in an intitially silly bit that has now officially worn thin. Beast is a ravenous monster, Piotr was TKO'd by Shaw's "double-man-slap" last issue and Scott is comatose. Apparently the Hellfire Club want to break into some object that the X-Mansion has that no one can crack; I'm assuming it's Phoenix-related, because the Hellfire Club can't homage the 80's if you don't have Dark Phoenix, which is the only story they were in that anyone seems to care about. But I could be wrong. It's revealed that the entire purpose of wanting Kitty on the team was to get her to crack the object. She beats up Emma Frost in what must have been a cathartic experience before revealing the "mystery" Hellfire member as...another version of her (as the WHITE QUEEN, in full PRYDE OF THE X-MEN attire, fur cape and all). Kitty has the same reaction we do, and it'll be about Halloween before we see this go anywhere. The B-plot has Danger break out Ord, and the pair heading back to Earth to deal with the X-Man who is destined to destroy Breakworld, which apparently is COLOSSUS. Man, the blogger nerds were all predicting Cyclops in the wake of the "no visor" stuff, and it was good that for once we were wrong. Such a shame Marvel can't be as clever about CIVIL WAR secrets. The dialogue is all crisp and "snarky for TV" quality and the Frost/Kitty fight was cool, but this issue was a clear set-up for #17, and these sort of issues feel even more "meh" when you have a 2 month gap. Final verdict? ASTONISHING is readable and enjoyable as a whole, but some issues are slower than others and sometimes this book is overrated. But it's still one of the better X-books.
I just wonder; will Whedon understand that the Logan bit has worn thin, or needlessly stretch it out because he's so damned proud of himself for it like most writers would?
ETERNALS #3: I still hate the $3.99 price-tag, but I am enjoying the book so far. Romita Jr. is a great fit for it as he has that Kirby-esque ability to have city scenes and weirdo sci fi stuff merge in the same read and have it work. The Eternals, thanks to the prodding of the hostage crisis and Ikaris' last ditch effort to create the "Uni-Mind", start to seem to come together. Mark Curry, or "Makkari", unlocks his speed to survive the hostage crisis in some brilliantly drawn sequences, and talks of his experiences to Sprite, the seemingly 11 year old star. Thena is starting to unlock her warrior nature when she is taken hostage by thugs after the murder of her "husband". Sersi is starting to feel weird, too. Amazingly, Gaiman has done his homework well; Iron Man guest stars and recalls Sersi being a former member as well as meetings with Thena. The problem is that Sersi doesn't remember her tenure as an Avenger or her Eternal status, and Stark's computers have no record of her either anymore. This issue is firmly established as set during the CW crisis, yet Marvel's not even attempted to shamelessly tack this title on as a CW title. Is that due to respecting Gaiman? I see it as a misstep, because this book should be selling better than the low 30's every month. If this was a non-event year I'm sure it'd be in the Top 15, at least. Still, considering that it's NOT relying on the CW drive and it's about a 30 year old abandoned Kirby franchise, the fact that it's selling at the Top 40 with a $4 pricetag is a worthy achievement. The "scientists" who kidnapped and seemingly killed Ikaris are of course Devients, their ancient enemies, who worshop the fallen Celestial. Gaiman works his usual ability to tell a story about god-like, far out sci-fi/religious concepts and make it all work; the Eternals are godlike, nearly indestructable beings and this story manages to be thrilling without toning that down, just makes it a mystery as to why they're all in the dark about it, and who (or what) has done this to them? Druig is also evolving into what may be an interesting villian. The pacing is a little slow but with a large cast like this, you need to take it in chunks. The fact that it's an intreging read about characters I never gave a damn about before is a good one. I can't wait for it all to pull together. I just wonder why other mini's that have even LESS connection to CW, like CW: X-MEN, are given that boost while this has not? You can't set it in a "timeless" setting for a trade while dating it heavily in CW background. You can't have it both ways. Oh, well.
