After briefly re-reading a Bought/Thought from a YEAR ago that was mysteriously ressurrected for the sole purpose of complaining that All-Star Batman is shipping late, I've found the correct thread. But I've only got three books I can review, since the others I bought, I'm behind on. Anyways, ...
Ultimate X-Men is a fickle little book, and my stand that Kirkman is spreading himself too thin remains. Unlike Invincible, which has story elements so intricately woven in that I have to read most issues more than once to retain everything, UXM has all the finesse and subtlety of a brick. If someone were to throw a brick at you in front of a large crowd, only to casually stroll up to you and relay the message that you've been hit by a brick via megaphone, it might still occur to you that not everything is as it seems. Such is not the case with the leather-clad mutants. Not only is everything exactly as you might have predicted, but the reveal is followed by page after page of exposition, informing you that you've been hit in the head by a large, heavy brick with "Ultimate X-Men" written on the side in Sharpie. On top of this is a full page of Wolverine moping, and Sabretooth hiding behind a tree.
For what purpose? To set up a storyline for the future.
Which storyline? Who cares.
At least it was pretty to look at.
Arkham Asylum: Living Hell at last we meet. The flashbacks could have used a little more notice, as there were parts when I was unsure which time we were in, and exactly how much time has elapsed to tell this full story. Other than that, Slott has done no wrong, and you would be a fool not to pick this book up. On top of Etrigan the Demon's heavy involvement, two of the most bizarrely enigmatic Batman rogues get lots and lots of focus. Namely, Doodlebug, who just has a neat design, similar to BTAS' Firefly, and Humpty Dumpty, a man-child with such a unique outlook on life, you can't help but like him.
Did I mention Etrigan the Demon's in it?
Lastly, ...
Pride of Baghdad. Vaughan is one of my favorite writers in comics today, and probably ever. I'm not sure how much of his writing is a forced sense of style, or if he's generally just a cool guy with a penchant for pop culture references. I'm leaning towards the latter. Inspired by
actual events in 2003, one lion, two lionessess, and one male cub run around a warzone, get seperated, get reunited, seperate again, meet turtles, fight monkeys, and generally prove to be amazingly human. I loved it. Every single word and every single image on every single page. This was the reason I went to my LCS today, and I read it first, hoping that I could read my other books, sit down, review them, and come up with something intelligent to say about it, but there's just no reason to say more than "wow".
Wow.
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Like I said, I picked up DMZ, Devi, Rokkin, and Cassanova as well, but I haven't read past the first couple issues of DMZ, or past the first issues of Devi, Rokkin, and Cassanova, so I'll hold those reviews for another time.