Eternals is sort of meandering about more than I expected it to. Kind of gross to see Ikaris act like such an X-Men fanboy, too. But I like the characters, so I'll stick with it. I just hope Gilgamesh snaps out of his evil phase and rejoins the good guys sooner rather than later. And Sersi needs to f***ing
do something.
Golly #4
Start of a new arc--this time Golly and the rest of the carnies are a-huntin' vampires! It's as fun as it sounds; even if you're jaded with all the rampant vampire stuff in various forms of media lately, there's a pretty gross twist to this one that makes it stand out. Plus, Golly and his friends are as obnoxious and moronic about the whole thing as ever. Just a lot of fun.
Sandman: The Dream Hunters #4
Fantastic end to an equally fantastic mini-series. It's pretty clearly meant to be read as one story straight through, which makes sense given that it was adapted from an illustrated novel, but cutting it up doesn't really hurt the story at all. The lessons Morpheus talks about at the end are potent, timeless, and poetic, and when Matthew asks if Morpheus himself learned anything from the whole thing, I thought back to a half-remembered love affair depicted early on in the Sandman series between Morpheus and I think a mortal woman or a minor goddess or something. Yet another reason to finally get around to re-reading the Sandman series (preferably in the Absolute format, if I can scrounge up enough money). Vess' art is as expressive and understated ever, very much serving the story in a quiet way that not many modern artists, who are more concerned with their own flashy styles, do anymore. Very refreshing to see two true masters of the graphic storytelling form work in perfect harmony to create such an outstanding work.
Buffy #22
Really fun story, even though all the silly maybe-lesbian stuff with Buffy welled up in various parts. I like that Harmony, the seemingly too-stupid-to-be-trouble vamp, ends up doing the most damage to the Slayer army. It just occurred to me that this is basically Buffy's version of Dark Reign: she and the other heroes are considered evil while the vampires' popularity is rising. Of course, Whedon went about it in a much subtler way, with Harmony stealing the show by literally using a reality TV show to insinuate herself into pop culture and win the public's hearts. Like any fad, I'm sure it'll pass and Buffy will prevail in the end, but it's a fun plot twist for now.
Then, of course, there was the A-plot for this issue: adorable vampire kitty dolls
that will eat your soul. I think Joss Whedon must be getting more cynical in his old age because he really seems to get off on this kind of stuff more and more lately--turning super-cute things into the most evil villains, making his villains wittier and more charming than his heroes, killing off anyone who appears to be in a happy relationship. Still, this instance was pretty damn funny, even if he sort of already did it with "Smile Time" in Angel's show. Stuffed beings of any kind are always good villains.
